Microarray Based Multiplex Pathogen Analysis and Uses Thereof

ABSTRACT

Provided herein is a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system for DNA sequence detection and analysis. The system has a plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers, on one end of which are attached nucleic acid probes where each have a sequence complementary to signature nucleotide sequences in pathogens, plants or animals. The other end of the bifunctional polymer linker is attached to a solid support by non-covalent or covalent means. Each of the nucleic acid probes have terminal thymidine bases at the 5′ and 3′ ends that permit attachment of the probes to the bifunctional polymer linkers. Also provided is a customizable microarray kit is provided that contains the solid support, linkers, probes, solvent mixture and instructions to use the kit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of pending application U.S. Ser. No. 15/916,062, filed Mar. 8, 2018, which is a continuation-In-part under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of pending non-provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 15/388,561, filed Dec. 22, 2016, which claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/271,371, filed Dec. 28, 2015, now abandoned, all of which are hereby incorporated in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present disclosure is in the technical field of DNA based pathogen and plant analysis. More particularly, the present disclosure is in the technical field of pathogen analysis for plant, agriculture, food and water material using a multiplex assay and a 3-dimensional lattice microarray technology for immobilizing nucleic acid probes.

Description of the Related Art

Current techniques used to identify microbial pathogens rely upon established clinical microbiology monitoring. Pathogen identification is conducted using standard culture and susceptibility tests. These tests require a substantial investment of time, effort, cost as well as labile products. Current techniques are not ideal for testing large numbers samples. Culture-based testing is fraught with inaccuracies which include both false positives and false negatives, as well as unreliable quantification of colony forming units (CFUs). There are issues with the presence of viable but non-culturable microorganisms which do not show up using conventional culture methods. Certain culture tests are very non-specific in terms of detecting both harmful and harmless species which diminishes the utility of the test to determine if there is a threat present in the sample being tested.

In response to challenges including false positives and culturing of microorganisms, DNA-based diagnostic methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification techniques were developed. To analyze a pathogen using PCR, DNA is extracted from a material prior to analysis, which is a time-consuming and costly step.

In an attempt to eliminate the pre-analysis extraction step of PCR, Colony PCR was developed. Using cells directly from colonies from plates or liquid cultures, Colony PCR allows PCR of bacterial cells without sample preparation. This technique was a partial success but was not as sensitive as culture indicating a possible issue with interference of the PCR by constituents in the specimens. Although this possible interference may not be significant enough to invalidate the utility of the testing performed, such interference can be significant for highly sensitive detection of pathogens for certain types of tests. Consequently, Colony PCR did not eliminate the pre-analysis extraction step for use of PCR, especially for highly sensitive detection of pathogens.

It is known that 16S DNA in bacteria and the ITS2 DNA in yeast or mold can be PCR amplified, and once amplified can be analyzed to provide information about the specific bacteria or specific mold or yeast contamination in or on plant material. Further, for certain samples such as blood, fecal matter and others, PCR may be performed on the DNA in such samples absent any extraction of the DNA. However, for blood it is known that the result of such direct PCR is prone to substantial sample to sample variation due to inhibition by blood analytes. Additionally, attempts to perform direct PCR analysis on plant matter have generally been unsuccessful, due to heavy inhibition of PCR by plant constituents.

Over time, additional methods and techniques were developed to improve on the challenges of timely and specific detection and identification of pathogens. Immuno-assay techniques provide specific analysis. However, the technique is costly in the use of chemical consumables and has a long response time. Optical sensor technologies produce fast real-time detection but such sensor lack identification specificity as they offer a generic detection capability as the pathogen is usually optically similar to its benign background. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) technique is capable of amplification and detection of a DNA sample in less than an hour. However, qPCR is largely limited to the analysis of a single pathogen. Consequently, if many pathogens are to be analyzed concurrently, as is the case with plant, agriculture, food and water material, a relatively large number of individual tests are performed in parallel.

Biological microarrays have become a key mechanism in a wide range of tools used to detect and analyze DNA. Microarray-based detection combines DNA amplification with the broad screening capability of microarray technology. This results in a specific detection and improved rate of process. DNA microarrays can be fabricated with the capacity to interrogate, by hybridization, certain segments of the DNA in bacteria and eukaryotic cells such as yeast and mold. However, processing a large number of PCR reactions for downstream microarray applications is costly and requires highly skilled individuals with complex organizational support. Because of these challenges, microarray techniques have not led to the development of downstream applications.

It is well known that DNA may be linked to a solid support for the purposes of DNA analysis. In those instances, the surface-associated DNA is generally referred to as the “Oligonucleotide probe” (nucleic acid probe, DNA probe) and its cognate partner to which the probe is designed to bind is referred to as the Hybridization Target (DNA Target). In such a device, detection and-or quantitation of the DNA Target is obtained by observing the binding of the Target to the surface bound Probe via duplex formation, a process also called “DNA Hybridization” (Hybridization).

Nucleic acid probe linkage to the solid support may be achieved by non-covalent adsorption of the DNA directly to a surface as occurs when a nucleic acid probe adsorbs to a neutral surface such as cellulose or when a nucleic acid probe adsorbs to cationic surface such as amino-silane coated glass or plastic. Direct, non-covalent adsorption of nucleic acid probes to the support has several limitations. The nucleic acid probe is necessarily placed in direct physical contact with the surface thereby presenting steric constraints to its binding to a DNA Target as the desired (bound) Target-Probe complex is a double helix which can only form by wrapping of the Target DNA strand about the bound Probe DNA: an interaction which is fundamentally inhibited by direct physical adsorption of the nucleic acid probe upon the underlying surface.

Nucleic acid probe linkage may also occur via covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probe to a surface. This can be induced by introduction of a reactive group (such as a primary amine) into the Probe then covalent attachment of the Probe, through the amine, to an amine-reactive moiety placed upon the surface: such as an epoxy group, or an isocyanate group, to form a secondary amine or a urea linkage, respectively. Since DNA is not generally reactive with epoxides or isocyanates or other similar standard nucleophilic substitutions, the DNA Probe must be first chemically modified with “unnatural” ligands such as primary amines or thiols. While such chemistry may be readily implemented during oligonucleotide synthesis, it raises the cost of the DNA Probe by more than a factor of two, due to the cost associated with the modification chemistry. A related UV crosslinking based approach circumvents the need for unnatural base chemistry, wherein Probe DNA can be linked to the surface via direct UV crosslinking of the DNA, mediated by photochemical addition of thymine within the Probe DNA to the amine surface to form a secondary amine adduct. However, the need for high energy UV for efficient crosslinking results in substantial side reactions that can damage the nucleic acid probe beyond use. As is the case for adsorptive linkage, the covalent linkages possible between a modified nucleic acid probe and a reactive surface are very short, in the order of less than 10 rotatable bonds, thereby placing the nucleic acid probe within 2 nm of the underlying surface. Given that a standard nucleic acid probe is >20 bases in length (>10 nm long) a Probe/linker length ratio >10/1 also provides for destabilizing inhibition of the subsequent formation of the desired Target-Probe Duplex.

Previous Attempts at addressing these problems have not met with success. Attachment of nucleic acid probes to surfaces via their entrapment into a 3-Dimensional gel phase such as that created by polymerizing acrylamide and polysaccharides among others have been problematic due to the dense nature of the gel phases. While the pore size (about 10 nm) in these gels permit entrapment and/or attachment of the nucleic acid probes within the gel, the solution-phase DNA Target, which is typically many times longer than the nucleic acid probe, is blocked from penetrating the gel matrix thereby limiting use of these gel phase systems due to poor solution-phase access to the Target DNA.

Thus, the prior art is deficient in methods of DNA based pathogen analysis that interrogates a multiplicity of samples, uses fewer chemical and labile products, reduces processing steps and provides faster results while maintaining accuracy, specificity and reliability. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a covalent 3-dimensional lattice microarray system for DNA detection and analysis. The system comprises a solid support having chemically activatable groups on its surface, a plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers covalently attached to the solid support and a plurality of nucleic acid probes covalently attached to the bifunctional polymer linkers.

The present invention is directed to an adsorptive 3-dimensional lattice microarray system for DNA detection and analysis. The system comprises a solid support having no chemically activatable groups on its surface, a plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers attached to the solid support by non-covalent adsorption and a plurality of nucleic acid probes attached covalently to the bifunctional polymer linkers.

The present invention is also directed to a method for fabricating a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system. The method comprises the steps of contacting the solid support with a formulation comprising a plurality of nucleic acid probes, a plurality of fluorescent bifunctional polymer linkers and a solvent mixture comprising water and a boiling point water-miscible liquid; performing a first attachment to attach the fluorescent bifunctional polymer linker to the solid support, evaporating the water in the sample and performing a second attachment step to covalently attach the nucleic acid probes to the fluorescent bifunctional polymer linker.

The present invention is further directed to a customizable kit comprising the solid support, a plurality of fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linkers, solvents and instructions for fabricating the microarray using a plurality of custom designed nucleic acid probes relevant to an end user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawing, wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate a covalent microarray system comprising probes and bifunctional labels printed on an activated surface. FIG. 1A shows the components—unmodified nucleic acid probe, amine-functionalized (NH) bifunctional polymer linker and amine-functionalized (NH) fluorescently labeled bifunctional polymer linker in a solvent comprising water and a high boiling point water-miscible liquid, and a solid support with chemically activatable groups (X). FIG. 1B shows the first step reaction of the bifunctional polymer linker with the chemically activated solid support where the bifunctional polymer linker becomes covalently attached by the amine groups to the chemically activated groups on the solid support. FIG. 1C shows the second step of concentration via evaporation of water from the solvent to increase the concentration of the reactants—nucleic acid probes and bifunctional polymer linker. FIG. 1D shows the third step of UV crosslinking of the nucleic acid probes via thymidine base to the bifunctional polymer linker within evaporated surface, which in some instances also serves to covalently link adjacent bifunctional polymeric linkers together via crosslinking to the nucleic acid Probe.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate an adsorptive microarray system comprising probes and bifunctional polymeric linkers. FIG. 2A shows the components; unmodified nucleic acid probe and functionalized (R_(n)) bifunctional polymer linker and similarly functionalized fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linker in a solvent comprising water and a high boiling point water-miscible liquid, and a solid support, wherein the R_(n) group is compatible for adsorbing to the solid support surface. FIG. 2B shows the first step adsorption of the bifunctional polymer linker on the solid support where the bifunctional polymer linkers become non-covalently attached by the R_(n) groups to the solid support. FIG. 2C shows the second step of concentration via evaporation of water from the solvent to increase the concentration of the reactants—Nucleic acid probes and bifunctional polymer linker. FIG. 2D shows the third step of UV crosslinking of the nucleic acid probes via thymidine base to the bifunctional polymer linker and other nucleic acid probes within the evaporated surface which in some instances also serves to covalently link adjacent bifunctional polymeric linkers together via crosslinking to the nucleic acid Probe.

FIGS. 3A-3C show experimental data using the covalent microarray system. In this example of the invention the bifunctional polymeric linker was a chemically modified 40 base long oligo deoxythymidine (OligodT) having a Cy5 fluorescent dye attached at its 5′ terminus and an amino group attached at its 3′ terminus, suitable for covalent linkage with a borosilicate glass solid support which had been chemically activated on its surface with epoxysilane. The nucleic acid probes comprised unmodified DNA oligonucleotides, suitable to bind to the solution state target, each oligonucleotide terminated with about 5 to 7 thymidines, to allow for photochemical crosslinking with the thymidines in the top domain of the polymeric (oligodT) linker.

FIG. 3A shows an imaged microarray after hybridization and washing, as visualized at 635 nm. The 635 nm image is derived from signals from the (red) CY5 fluor attached to the 5′ terminus of the bifunctional polymer linker (OligodT) which had been introduced during microarray fabrication as a positional marker in each microarray spot.

FIG. 3B shows a microarray imaged after hybridization and washing as visualized at 532 nm. The 532 nm image is derived from signals from the (green) CY3 fluor attached to the 5′ terminus of PCR amplified DNA obtained during PCR Reaction #2 of a DNA containing sample.

FIG. 3C shows an imaged microarray after hybridization and washing as visualized with both the 532 nm and 635 nm images superimposed. The superimposed images display the utility of parallel attachment of a Cy5-labelled OligodT positional marker relative to the sequence specific binding of the CY3-labelled PCR product.

FIG. 4A is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed within the 16S locus (all bacteria) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified bacterial contamination obtained from Cannabis wash and related plant wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for bacterial analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 4B is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed within the stx1 locus (pathogenic E. coli) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified bacterial contamination obtained from Cannabis wash and related plant wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for bacterial analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 5A is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed as a two stage PCR reaction within the stx2 locus (pathogenic E. coli) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified bacterial contamination obtained from Cannabis wash and related plant wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for bacterial analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 5B is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed within the invA locus (Salmonella) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified bacterial contamination obtained from Cannabis wash and related plant wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for bacterial analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 6 is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed within the tuf locus (E. coli) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified bacterial contamination obtained from Cannabis wash and related plant wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for bacterial analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 7 is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed within the ITS2 locus (yeast and mold) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified yeast, mold and fungal contamination obtained from Cannabis wash and related plant wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for yeast and mold analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 8 is a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed within the ITS1 locus (Cannabis Plant Control) to be used to PCR amplify unpurified DNA obtained from Cannabis wash. These PCR primers are used to amplify and dye label DNA from such samples for DNA analysis via microarray hybridization. This PCR reaction is used to generate an internal plant host control signal, via hybridization, to be used to normalize bacterial, yeast, mold and fungal signals obtained by microarray analysis on the same microarray.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating the processing of unpurified Cannabis wash or other surface sampling from Cannabis (and related plant material) so as to PCR amplify the raw Cannabis or related plant material, and then to perform microarray analysis on that material so as to analyze the pathogen complement of those plant samples

FIG. 10 is a representative image of the microarray format used to implement the nucleic acid probes. This representative format comprises 12 microarrays printed on a glass slide, each separated by a Teflon divider (left). Each microarray queries the full pathogen detection panel in quadruplicate. Also, shown is a blow-up (right) of one such microarray for the analysis of pathogens in Cannabis and related plant materials. The Teflon border about each microarray is fit to localize about 50 μL fluid sample for hybridization analysis where fluorescent labeled amplicons and placed onto the microarray for 30 min at room temperature, followed by washing at room temperature then microarray image scanning of the dye-labelled pathogen and host Cannabis DNA.

FIGS. 11A-11B shows representative microarray hybridization data obtained from purified bacterial DNA standards (FIG. 11A) and purified fungal DNA standards (FIG. 11B). In each case, the purified bacterial DNA is PCR amplified as though it were an unpurified DNA, then hybridized on the microarray via the microarray probes described above. The data show that in this microarray format, each of the bacteria can be specifically identified via room temperature hybridization and washing. Similarly, the purified fungal DNA is PCR amplified as though it were an unpurified DNA, then hybridized on the microarray via the microarray probes described above. The data show that in this microarray format, each of the fungal DNAs can be specifically identified via room temperature hybridization and washing.

FIG. 12 shows representative microarray hybridization data obtained from 5 representative raw Cannabis wash samples. In each case, the raw pathogen complement of these 5 samples is PCR amplified, then hybridized on the microarray via the microarray probes described above. The data show that in this microarray format, specific bacterial, yeast, mold and fungal contaminants can be specifically identified via room temperature hybridization and washing.

FIG. 13 shows representative microarray hybridization data obtained from a representative raw Cannabis wash sample compared to a representative (raw) highly characterized, candida samples. In each case, the raw pathogen complement of each sample is PCR amplified, then hybridized on the microarray via the microarray probes described above. The data show that in this microarray format, specific fungal contaminants can be specifically identified via room temperature hybridization and washing on either raw Cannabis wash or cloned fungal sample.

FIG. 14 shows a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed in a variation of an embodiment for low level detection of Bacteria in the Family Enterobacteriaceae including E. coli. These PCR primers are used to selectively amplify and dye label DNA from targeted organisms for analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIG. 15A is a graphical representation of microarray hybridization data demonstrating low level detection of E. coli O157:H7 from certified reference material consisting of enumerated colonies of specified bacteria spiked onto Humulus lupulus, (Hop plant).

FIG. 15B is a graphical representation of microarray hybridization data demonstrating low level detection of E. coli O1111 from certified reference material consisting of enumerated colonies of specified bacteria spiked onto Humulus lupulus, (Hop plant).

FIG. 15C is a graphical representation of microarray hybridization data demonstrating low level detection of Salmonella enterica from certified reference material consisting of enumerated colonies of specified bacteria spiked onto Humulus lupulus, (Hop plant).

FIG. 16 shows diagrams for sample collection and preparation from two methods. Both the tape pull and wash method are used to process samples to provide a solution for microbial detection via microarray analysis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of this invention, there is provided a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system for screening a sample for the presence of a multiplicity of DNA. The system comprises a chemically activatable solid support, a bifunctional polymer linker and a plurality of nucleic acid probes designed to identify sequence determinants in plant, animal or pathogen DNA.

In this embodiment, the solid support may be made of any suitable material known in the art including but not limited to borosilicate glass, a thermoplastic acrylic resin such as poly(methylmethacrylate-VSUVT (PMMA-VSUVT), a cycloolefin polymers such as ZEONOR® 1060R, metals including, but not limited to gold and platinum, plastics including, but not limited to polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, nylon, ceramics including, but not limited to TiO₂, and Indium tin oxide (ITO) and engineered carbon surfaces including, but not limited to graphene. The solid support has a front surface and a back surface and may be activated on the front surface with suitable chemicals which include but are not limited to epoxysilane, isocyanate, succinimide, carbodiimide, aldehyde and maleimide. These are well known in the art and one of ordinary skill in this art would be able to readily functionalize any of these supports as desired. In a preferred embodiment, the solid support is epoxysilane functionalized borosilicate glass support.

In this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linker has a top domain and a bottom end. On the bottom end is attached a first reactive moiety that allows covalent attachment to the chemically activatable groups in the solid support. Examples of first reactive moieties include but are not limited to an amine group, a thiol group and an aldehyde group. Preferably, the first reactive moiety is an amine group. On the top domain of the bifunctional polymer linker is provided a second reactive moiety that allows covalent attachment to the oligonucleotide probe. Examples of second reactive moieties include but are not limited to nucleotide bases like thymidine, adenine, guanine, cytidine, uracil and bromodeoxyuridine and amino acid like cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine glycine, serine, tryptophan, cystine, methionine, histidine, arginine and lysine. The bifunctional polymer linker may be an oligonucleotide such as OligodT, an amino polysaccharide such as chitosan, a polyamine such as spermine, spermidine, cadaverine and putrescine, a polyamino acid, with a lysine or histidine, or any other polymeric compounds with dual functional groups which can be attached to the chemically activatable solid support on the bottom end, and the nucleic acid probes on the top domain. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker is OligodT having an amine group at the 5′ end.

In this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linker may be unmodified. Alternatively, the bifunctional polymer linker has a color or fluorescent label attached covalently. Examples of fluorescent labels include, but are not limited to a Cy5, a DYLIGHT™ DY647, a ALEXA FLUOR® 647, a Cy3, a DYLIGHT™ DY547, or a ALEXA FLUOR® 550. These may be attached to any reactive group including but not limited to, amine, thiol, aldehyde, sugar amido and carboxy on the bifunctional polymer linker. The chemistries of such reactive groups are well known in the art and one or ordinary skill can readily identify a suitable group on a selected bifunctional polymer linker for attaching the fluorescent label. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker is Cy5-labeled OligodT having an amino group attached at its 3′terminus for covalent attachment to an activated surface on the solid support.

Also in this embodiment, the present invention provides a plurality of nucleic acid probes designed with the purpose of identifying sequence determinants in plants, animals or pathogens. The nucleic acid probes are synthetic oligonucleotides and have terminal thymidine bases at their 5′ and 3′ end. The thymidine bases permit covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker by any standard coupling procedures including but not limited to chemical, photochemical and thermal coupling. Preferably, covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker is by photochemical means using ultraviolet light.

In this embodiment, the fluorescent label (fluorescent tag) attached to the bifunctional polymer linker is beneficial since it allows the user to image and detect the position of the individual nucleic acid probes (“spot”) printed on the microarray. By using two different fluorescent labels, one for the bifunctional polymer linker and the second for the amplicons generated from the DNA being queried, the user can obtain a superimposed image that allows parallel detection of those nucleic acid probes which have been hybridized with amplicons. This is advantageous since it helps in identifying the plant or pathogen comprised in the sample using suitable computer and software, assisted by a database correlating nucleic acid probe sequence and microarray location of this sequence with a known DNA signature in plants, animals or pathogens. Any emitter/acceptor fluorescent label pairs known in the art may be used. For example, the bifunctional polymer linker may be labeled with emitters such as a Cy5, DYLIGHT™ DY647, or ALEXA FLUOR® 647, while the amplicons may be labeled with acceptors such as Cy3, DYLIGHT™ DY547, or ALEXA FLUOR® 550. Preferably, the emitter is Cy5 and the acceptor is Cy3.

In another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system for screening a sample for the presence of a multiplicity of DNA. The system comprises a solid support, a fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linker and a plurality of nucleic acid probes designed to identify sequence determinants in plant, animal or pathogen DNA.

In this embodiment, the solid support has a front surface and a back surface. The front surface has non-covalent adsorptive properties for specific functionalized group(s) present in the fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linker (described below). Examples of such solid support include, but are not limited to borosilicate glass, SiO2, metals including, but not limited to gold and platinum, plastics including, but not limited to polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, nylon, ceramics including, but not limited to TiO₂, and Indium tin oxide (ITO) and engineered carbon surfaces including, but not limited to graphene.

In this embodiment, the fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linker has a top domain and a bottom end. On the bottom end is attached one or more functional groups (designated by “R_(n)”) that are compatible for non-covalent adsorptive attachment with the front surface of the solid support. Examples of compatible R groups include, but are not limited to, single stranded nucleic acids (example, OligodT), amine-polysaccharide (example, chitosan), extended planar hydrophobic groups (example, digoxigenin, pyrene, Cy-5 dye).

Further in this embodiment, on the top domain of the bifunctional polymer linker is provided a second reactive moiety that allows covalent attachment to the oligonucleotide probe. Examples of second reactive moieties include but are not limited to nucleotide bases like thymidine, adenine, guanine, cytidine, uracil and bromodeoxyuridine and amino acid like cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine glycine, serine, tryptophan, cystine, methionine, histidine, arginine and lysine. To the bottom end of the bifunctional polymer linker may be attached polymeric molecules including, but not limited to an oligonucleotide such as OligodT, an amino polysaccharide such as chitosan, a polyamine such as spermine, spermidine, cadaverine and putrescine, a polyamino acid, with a lysine or histidine, or OligodT that is modified at its 5′ end with a digoxigenin, a pyrene or a Cy5 or any other polymeric molecules with or without chemical modification suitable for non-covalent attachment to the solid support. On the top domain of these bifunctional polymer linkers is attached, the nucleic acid probes. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker is OligodT.

In one aspect of this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linker is unmodified. Alternatively, the bifunctional polymer linker may be a fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linker. The fluorescent label may be, but is not limited to a Cy5, a DYLIGHT™ DY647, a ALEXA FLUOR® 647, a Cy3, a DYLIGHT™ DY547, or a ALEXA FLUOR® 550 attached to any reactive group including but not limited to, amine, thiol, aldehyde, sugar amido and carboxy on the bifunctional polymer linker. The chemistries of such reactive groups are well known in the art and one or ordinary skill can readily identify a suitable group on a selected bifunctional polymer linker for attaching the fluorescent label. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker is Cy5-labeled OligodT.

Also in this embodiment, the present invention provides a plurality of nucleic acid probes designed with the purpose of identifying sequence determinants in plants, animals or pathogens. The nucleic acid probes are synthetic oligonucleotides and have terminal thymidine bases at their 5′ and 3′ end. The thymidine bases permit covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker by any standard coupling procedures including but not limited to chemical, photochemical and thermal coupling. Preferably, covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker is by photochemical means using ultraviolet light.

In this embodiment, the fluorescent label (fluorescent tag) attached to the bifunctional polymer linker is beneficial since it allows the user to image and detect the position of the individual nucleic acid probes (“spot”) printed on the microarray. By using two different fluorescent labels, one for the bifunctional polymer linker and the second for the amplicons generated from the DNA being queried, the user can obtain a superimposed image that allows parallel detection of those nucleic acid probes which have been hybridized with amplicons. This is advantageous since it helps in identifying the plant or pathogen comprised in the sample using suitable computer and software, assisted by a database correlating nucleic acid probe sequence and microarray location of this sequence with a known DNA signature in plants, animals or pathogens. Any emitter/acceptor fluorescent label pairs known in the art may be used. For example, the bifunctional polymer linker may be labeled with emitters such as a Cy5, DYLIGHT™ DY647, or ALEXA FLUOR® 647, while the amplicons may be labeled with acceptors such as Cy3, DYLIGHT™ DY547, or ALEXA FLUOR® 550. Preferably, the emitter is Cy5 and the acceptor is Cy3.

In yet another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a method for fabricating a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system for the purpose of screening a sample for the presence of a multiplicity of DNA in a sample. The method comprises, contacting a solid support with a formulation comprising a plurality of nucleic acid probes, a plurality of fluorescent bifunctional polymer linkers and a solvent mixture comprising water and a high boiling point, water-miscible liquid, allowing a first attachment between the fluorescent bifunctional polymer linkers and the solid support to proceed, evaporating the water in the solvent mixture thereby concentrating the nucleic acid probes and fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linkers, allowing a second attachment between the nucleic acid probes and the fluorescent bifunctional polymer linker, and washing the solid support with at least once to remove unattached fluorescent bifunctional polymer linkers and nucleic acid probes.

In this embodiment, the contacting step is achieved by standard printing methods known in the art including, but not limited to piezo-electric printing, contact printing, ink jet printing and pipetting, which allow an uniform application of the formulation on the activated support. For this, any suitable solid support known in the art including but not limited to borosilicate glass, a polycarbonate, a graphene, a gold, a thermoplastic acrylic resin such as poly(methylmethacrylate-VSUVT (PMMA-VSUVT) and a cycloolefin polymer such as ZEONOR® 1060R may be employed.

In one aspect of this embodiment, the first attachment of the bifunctional polymer linker to the solid support is by non-covalent means such as by adsorption or electrostatic binding. In this case, the bifunctional polymer linkers with one or more functional groups (designated by “R_(n)”) on the bottom end, that are compatible for attachment with the front surface of the solid support will be used. Examples of compatible R groups include, but are not limited to, single stranded nucleic acids (example, OligodT), amine-polysaccharide (example, chitosan), extended planar hydrophobic groups (example, digoxigenin, pyrene, Cy-5 dye). In another aspect of this embodiment, the first attachment of the bifunctional polymer linker to the solid support is by covalent coupling between chemically activatable groups on the solid support and a first reactive moiety on the bottom end of the bifunctional polymer linker. Suitable chemicals including but are not limited to epoxysilane, isocyanate, succinimide, carbodiimide, aldehyde and maleimide may be used for activating the support. These are well known in the art and one of ordinary skill in this art would be able to readily functionalize any of these supports as desired. In a preferred embodiment, a borosilicate glass support that is epoxysilane functionalized is used. Examples of first reactive moieties amenable to covalent first attachment include, but are not limited to an amine group, a thiol group and an aldehyde group. Preferably, the first reactive moiety is an amine group.

In this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linker has a second reactive moiety attached at the top domain. Examples of second reactive moieties include but are not limited to nucleotide bases like thymidine, adenine, guanine, cytidine, uracil and bromodeoxyuridine and amino acid like cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine glycine, serine, tryptophan, cystine, methionine, histidine, arginine and lysine. Preferably, the second reactive moiety is thymidine. In this aspect of the invention, the bifunctional polymer linker may be an oligonucleotide such as OligodT, an amino polysaccharide such as chitosan, a polyamine such as spermine, spermidine, cadaverine and putrescine, a polyamino acid, with a lysine or histidine, or any other polymeric compounds with dual functional groups which can be attached to the chemically activatable solid support on the bottom end, and the nucleic acid probes on the top domain. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker is OligodT having an amine group at the 5′ end.

In this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linkers are modified with a fluorescent label. Examples of fluorescent labels include but are not limited Cy5, DYLIGHT™ DY647, ALEXA FLUOR® 647, Cy3, DYLIGHT™ DY547 and ALEXA FLUOR® 550 attached to any reactive group including but not limited to, amine, thiol, aldehyde, sugar amido and carboxy on the bifunctional polymer linker. The chemistries of such reactive groups are well known in the art and one or ordinary skill can readily identify a suitable group on a selected bifunctional polymer linker for attaching the fluorescent label. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker used for fabricating the microarray is Cy5-labeled OligodT.

The method of fabricating the microarray requires use of a solvent mixture comprising water and a water-miscible liquid having a boiling point above 100° C. This liquid may be any suitable water-miscible liquid with a boiling point higher than that of water, so that all the solvent is not lost during the evaporation step. This allows the molecular reactants—nucleic acid probes and bifunctional linkers to be progressively concentrated during evaporation. Such controlled evaporation is crucial to the present invention since it controls the vertical spacing between nucleic acid probes their avoiding steric hindrance during the hybridization steps thereby improving accuracy and precision of the microarray. Examples of high boiling point water-miscible solvent include but are not limited to glycerol, DMSO and propanediol. The ratio or water to high boiling point solvent is kept between 10:1 and 100:1 whereby, in the two extremes, upon equilibrium, volume of the fluid phase will reduce due to water evaporation to between 1/100th and 1/10^(th) of the original volume, thus giving rise to a 100-fold to 10-fold increase in reactant concentration. In a preferred embodiment, the water-miscible solvent is propanediol and the water to propanediol ratio is 100:1.

Further in this embodiment, the nucleic acid probes used in the method of microarray fabrication are designed with terminal thymidine bases at their 5′ and 3′ end. The thymidine bases permit covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker by any standard coupling procedures including but not limited to chemical, photochemical and thermal coupling during the fabrication process. Preferably, coupling of the nucleic acid probes to the fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linkers is by photochemical covalent crosslinking.

In yet another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a customizable microarray kit. The kit comprises a solid support, a plurality of fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linkers, nucleic acid probes and a solvent mixture comprising water and one or more of a water-miscible liquid having a boiling point above 100° C., and instructions to use the kit. Each of the components comprising this kit may be individually customized prior to shipping based on the goals of the end user.

In this embodiment, the solid support has a front surface and a back surface and made of any suitable material known in the art including but not limited to borosilicate glass, a polycarbonate, a graphene, a gold, a thermoplastic acrylic resin such as poly(methylmethacrylate-VSUVT (PMMA-VSUVT) and a cycloolefin polymer such as ZEONOR® 1060R.

In one aspect of this embodiment, the solid support is unmodified and has properties capable of non-covalent attachment to groups in the bifunctional polymer linker. Alternatively, the solid support is activated on the front surface with chemically activatable groups which include but are not limited to epoxysilane, isocyanate, succinimide, carbodiimide, aldehyde and maleimide. These are well known in the art and one of ordinary skill in this art would be able to readily functionalize any of these supports as desired. In a preferred embodiment, the solid support is epoxysilane functionalized borosilicate glass support.

In this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linker has a top domain and a bottom end. In one aspect of this embodiment, to the bottom end of the bifunctional polymer linker are attached one or more functional groups (designated by “R_(n)”), which are compatible for attachment with the front surface of the solid support in a non-covalent binding. Examples of such compatible R groups include, but are not limited to, single stranded nucleic acids (example, OligodT), amine-polysaccharide (example, chitosan), extended planar hydrophobic groups (example, digoxigenin, pyrene, Cy-5 dye). Alternatively, to the bottom end of the bifunctional polymer linker are attached a first reactive moiety that allows covalent attachment to chemically activatable groups in the solid support. Examples of first reactive moieties include but are not limited to an amine group, a thiol group and an aldehyde group. Preferably, the first reactive moiety is an amine group.

Further in this embodiment, on the top domain of the bifunctional polymer linker is provided a second reactive moiety that allows covalent attachment to the oligonucleotide probe. Examples of second reactive moieties include but are not limited to nucleotide bases like thymidine, adenine, guanine, cytidine, uracil and bromodeoxyuridine and amino acid like cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine glycine, serine, tryptophan, cystine, methionine, histidine, arginine and lysine. The bifunctional polymer linker may be an oligonucleotide such as OligodT, an amino polysaccharide such as chitosan, a polyamine such as spermine, spermidine, cadaverine and putrescine, a polyamino acid, with a lysine or histidine, or any other polymeric compounds with dual functional groups for attachment to the solid support from the bottom end, and the nucleic acid probes from the top domain.

In one aspect of this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linkers are modified with a fluorescent label. Alternatively, the bifunctional polymer linker may be a fluorescent labeled bifunctional polymer linker where the fluorescent label is either of Cy5, DYLIGHT™ DY647, ALEXA FLUOR® 647, Cy3, DYLIGHT™ DY547, or ALEXA FLUOR® 550 attached to any reactive group including but not limited to, amine, thiol, aldehyde, sugar amido and carboxy on the bifunctional polymer linker. The chemistries of such reactive groups are well known in the art and one or ordinary skill can readily identify a suitable group on a selected bifunctional polymer linker for attaching the fluorescent label. Preferably, the bifunctional polymer linker is Cy5-labeled OligodT.

Also in this embodiment, the present invention provides a plurality of nucleic acid probes designed with the purpose of identifying sequence determinants in plants, animals or pathogens. The nucleic acid probes are synthetic oligonucleotides and have terminal thymidine bases at their 5′ and 3′ end. The thymidine bases permit covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker by any standard coupling procedures including but not limited to chemical, photochemical and thermal coupling. Preferably, covalent attachment of the nucleic acid probes to the bifunctional polymer linker is by photochemical means using ultraviolet light.

In yet another embodiment of this invention there is provided a method for detecting the presence of one or more pathogens in a plant sample. In this embodiment, the pathogen may be a human pathogen, an animal pathogen or a plant pathogen, such as a bacterium, a fungus, a virus, a yeast, algae or a protozoan or a combination thereof. These pathogens may be present as constituents of the soil, soilless growth media, hydroponic growth media or water in which the plant sample was grown. The method comprises harvesting the pathogens from the plant sample, isolating total nucleic acids comprising pathogen DNA, performing a first amplification for generating one or more amplicons from the one or more pathogens present in the sample in a single, simultaneous step; performing a labeling amplification using as template, the one or more amplicons generated in the first amplification step to generate fluorescent labeled second amplicons; hybridizing the second amplicons with the nucleic acid probes immobilized on the fabricated self-assembled, 3-dimensional lattice microarray described above and imaging the microarray to detect the fluorescent signal, which indicates presence of the one or more pathogens in a plant sample. In this embodiment, the pathogens present on the plant surface may be harvested by washing the plant with water to recover the pathogens, followed by concentrating by filtration on a sterile 0.4 μm filter. In another aspect of this embodiment, pathogens within the plant tissue may be harvested by fluidizing the plant tissue sample and pathogens, followed by centrifuging to get a pellet of plant cells and pathogen cells. In either embodiment, the harvested sample is disrupted to release the total nucleic acids which is used in the subsequent steps without further purification.

Also in this embodiment, the sample comprising nucleic acids from pathogens (external pathogens) or nucleic acids from both pathogens and plant (internal pathogens) is used to perform a first amplification of pathogen DNA using pathogen-specific first primer pairs to obtain one or more pathogen-specific first amplicons. Any DNA amplification methodology, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that can selectively amplify the DNA complement in the sample may be employed. In a preferred embodiment, the amplification is by PCR. In one embodiment, the pathogen is a bacterium and the first primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1-12. In another embodiment, the pathogen is a fungus and the first primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 13-16. An aliquot of first amplicons so generated is used as template for a second, labelling PCR amplification using fluorescent labeled second primer pairs. The second primer pairs are designed to amplify an internal flanking region in the one or more first amplicons to obtain one or more first fluorescent labeled second amplicons. In one embodiment, the pathogen is a bacterium and the second primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 19-30. In another embodiment, the pathogen is a fungus and the second primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 31-34.

Further in this embodiment, the fluorescent labeled second amplicons are hybridized on a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system having a plurality of nucleic acid probes as described in detail above. In this embodiment, the bifunctional polymer linker has a fluorescent label (that is different from the label on the second amplicon) attached whereby, imaging the microarray after hybridization and washing results in two distinct fluorescent signals—the signal from the fluorescent bifunctional polymer linker which is covalently linked to the nucleic acid probe during fabrication, which would be detected in each spot comprised in the microarray, and a second amplicon signal that would be detected only in those spots where the nucleic acid probe sequence is complementary to the second amplicon (originally derived by amplification from the pathogen DNA in the sample). Thus, superimposing the two images using a computer provides beneficial attributes to the system and method claimed in this invention since one can readily identify the plant or pathogen comprised in the sample from a database that correlates nucleic acid probe sequence and microarray location of this sequence with a known DNA signature in plants or pathogens. In a preferred embodiment, the bacterial nucleic acid probes having sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 37-85. and fungal nucleic acid probes having sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 86-125 may be used for this purpose.

Further to this embodiment is a method for detecting plant DNA. The plant may be a terrestrial plant such as a Humulus or a Cannabis, an aquatic plant, an epiphytic plant or a lithophytic plant that grows in soil, soilless media, hydroponic growth media or water. In a preferred aspect, the plant is a Cannabis. This method comprises the steps of performing an amplification on an unpurified complex nucleic acid sample using plant-specific first primer pairs to generate plant-specific first amplicons. In one aspect of this embodiment, the first primer pair has sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 17-18. Any DNA amplification methodology, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that can selectively amplify the DNA complement in the sample may be employed. Preferably the amplification is by PCR. The first amplicons so generated are used as template for a labeling amplification step using fluorescent labeled second primer pairs that are designed to amplify an internal flanking region in the one or more of first amplicons generated in the first amplification step to generate one or more first fluorescent labeled second amplicons. In one embodiment, the second primer pair has sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 35-36. The second amplicons are hybridized on a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system having a plurality of plant-specific nucleic acid probes, and the microarrays imaged and analyzed as described above for identifying pathogen DNA. In one aspect of this embodiment, the hybridization nucleic acid probes have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 126-128.

In yet another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a method for simultaneously detecting resident pathogen DNA and plant DNA in a plant sample in a single assay. In this embodiment, the pathogen may be a human pathogen, an animal pathogen or a plant pathogen, which may be a bacterium, a fungus, a virus, a yeast, algae or a protozoan or a combination thereof. These pathogens may be present as constituents of the soil, soilless growth media, hydroponic growth media or water in which the plant sample was grown. The plant may be a terrestrial plant such as a Humulus or a Cannabis, an aquatic plant, an epiphytic plant or a lithophytic plant that grows in soil, soilless media, hydroponic growth media or water. Preferably, the plant is a Cannabis.

In this embodiment, the method comprises harvesting a plant tissue sample potentially comprising one or more pathogens, fluidizing the plant tissue sample and the one or more pathogens and isolating total nucleic acids comprising DNA from at least the plant tissue and DNA from the one or more pathogens. In one aspect of this embodiment, the step of isolating total nucleic acids comprises centrifuging the fluidized sample to get a pellet of plant cells and pathogen cells which are disrupted to release the total nucleic acids, which are used in the subsequent steps without further purification.

Further in this embodiment, a first amplification is performed on the unpurified total nucleic acid sample using one or more of a first primer pair each selective for the one or more pathogen DNA and one or more of a second primer pair selective for the plant DNA to generate one or more pathogen-specific first amplicons and one or more plant-specific second amplicons. Any DNA amplification methodology, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that can selectively amplify the DNA complement in the sample may be employed. In a preferred embodiment, the amplification is by PCR. In one embodiment, the pathogen is a bacterium and the first primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1-12. In another embodiment, the pathogen is a fungus and the first primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 13-16. In either of these embodiments, the plant-specific second primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 35-36. An aliquot of the first and second amplicons so generated is used as a template for a second, labeling PCR amplification step using fluorescent labeled third primer pairs having a sequence complementary to an internal flanking region in the one or more pathogen-specific first amplicons and fluorescent labeled fourth primer pairs having a sequence complementary to an internal flanking region in the one or more plant-specific second amplicons. Any DNA amplification methodology, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that can selectively amplify the DNA complement in the sample may be employed. In a preferred embodiment, the amplification is by PCR. In one embodiment, the pathogen is a bacterium and the third primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 19-30. In another embodiment, the pathogen is a fungus and the third primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 31-34. In either of these embodiments, the plant-specific fourth primer pairs have sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 35-36. The labeling PCR step results in generation of first fluorescent labeled third amplicons and second fluorescent labeled fourth amplicons corresponding to the pathogen and plant DNA respectively in the original harvested sample. These amplicons are then hybridized on a 3-dimensional lattice microarray system having a plurality of nucleic acid probes specific to sequence determinants in pathogen DNA or plant DNA. Bacterial nucleic acid probes having sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 37-85, fungal nucleic acid probes having sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 86-125 and plant nucleic acid probes having sequences shown in SEQ ID NOS: 126-128. may be used for this purpose. After hybridization, unhybridized amplicons are removed by washing and the microarray imaged. Detection of the first fluorescent labeled third amplicon signal indicates presence of pathogens in the plant sample. Detecting the second fluorescent labeled fourth amplicon indicates presence of the plant DNA. Superimposing these two signals with the third fluorescent signal from the fluorescent bifunctional polymer linker-coupled nucleic acid probes allow simultaneous identification of the pathogen and plant in the sample by correlating nucleic acid probe sequence and microarray location of this sequence with a known DNA signature in plants or pathogens. These features provide beneficial attributes to the system and method claimed in this invention.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure there is provided an improved method for DNA based pathogen analysis. The embodiments of the present disclosure use DNA amplification methodologies, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests that can selectively amplify the DNA complement of that plant material using unpurified plant and pathogen material. The embodiments are also based on the use of aforementioned PCR-amplified DNA as the substrate for microarray-based hybridization analysis, wherein the hybridization is made simple because the nucleic acid probes used to interrogate the DNA of such pathogens are optimized to function at room temperature. This enables the use of the above-mentioned microarray test at ambient temperature, thus bypassing the prior art requirement that testing be supported by an exogenous temperature-regulating device.

The following examples are given for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments of the invention and are not meant to limit the present invention in any fashion. One skilled in the art will appreciate readily that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those objects, ends and advantages inherent herein. Changes therein and other uses which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims will occur to those skilled in the art.

Example 1 Fabrication of 3-Dimensional Lattice Microarray Systems

The present invention teaches a way to link a nucleic acid probe to a solid support surface via the use of a bifunctional polymeric linker. The nucleic acid probe can be a PCR amplicon, synthetic oligonucleotides, isothermal amplification products, plasmids or genomic DNA fragment in a single stranded or double stranded form. The invention can be sub-divided into two classes, based on the nature of the underlying surface to which the nucleic acid probe would be linked.

1. Covalent Microarray System with Activated Solid Support.

The covalent attachment of any one of these nucleic acid probes does not occur to the underlying surface directly, but is instead mediated through a relatively long, bi-functional polymeric linker that is capable of both chemical reaction with the surface and also capable of efficient UV-initiated crosslinking with the nucleic acid probe. The mechanics of this process is spontaneous 3D self assembly and is illustrated in FIG. 1A-FIG. 1D. As seen in FIG. 1A, the components required to fabricate this microarray system are:

(a) an unmodified nucleic acid probe 3 such as an oligonucleotide, PCR or isothermal amplicon, plasmid or genomic DNA;

(b) a chemically activatable surface 1 with chemically activatable groups (designated “X”) compatible for reacting with a primary amine such as. epoxysilane, isocyanate, succinimide, carbodiimide, aldehyde.

(c) bifunctional polymer linkers 2 such as a natural or modified OligodT, amino polysaccharide, amino polypeptide suitable for coupling to chemically activatable groups on the support surface, each attached with a fluorescent label 4; and

(d) a solvent comprising water and a high boiling point, water-miscible liquid such as glycerol, DMSO or propanediol (water to solvent ratio between 10:1 and 100:1).

Table 1 shows examples of chemically activatable groups and matched reactive groups on the bifunctional polymer linker for mere illustration purposes only and does not in any way preclude use of other combinations of matched reactive pairs.

TABLE 1 Covalent Attachment of Bifunctional Polymeric Linker to an Activated Surfaces Activated Surface Matched Reactive Group Specific Implementation as Bifunctional Moiety on Bifunctional Linker polymeric linker Epoxysilane Primary Amine (1) Amine-modified OligodT (20-60 bases) (2) Chitosan (20-60 subunits) (3) Lysine containing polypeptide (20-60aa) EDC Activated Primary Amine (4) Amine-modified OligodT (20-60 bases) Carboxylic Acid (5) Chitosan (20-60 subunits) (6) Lysine containing polypeptide (20-60aa) N-hydroxysuccinimide Primary Amine (7) Amine-modified OligodT (20-60 bases) (NHS) (8) Chitosan (20-60 subunits) (9) Lysine containing polypeptide (20-60aa)

When used in the present invention, the chemically activatable surface, bifunctional polymer linkers and unmodified nucleic acid probes are included as a solution to be applied to a chemically activated surface 4 by ordinary methods of fabrication used to generate DNA Hybridization tests such as contact printing, piezo electric printing, ink jet printing, or pipetting.

Microarray fabrication begins with application of a mixture of the chemically activatable surface, bifunctional polymer linkers and unmodified nucleic acid probes to the surface. The first step is reaction and covalent attachment of the bifunctional linker to the activated surface (FIG. 1B). In general, the chemical concentration of the bi-functional linker is set to be such that less than 100% of the reactive sites on the surface form a covalent linkage to the bi-functional linker. At such low density, the average distance between bi-functional linker molecules defines a spacing denoted lattice width (“LW” in FIG. 1B).

In the second step, the water in the solvent is evaporated to concentrate the DNA and bifunctional linker via evaporation of water from the solvent (FIG. 1C). Generally, use of pure water as the solvent during matrix fabrication is disadvantageous because water is very quickly removed by evaporation due to a high surface area/volume ratio. To overcome this, in the present invention, a mixture of water with a high boiling point water-miscible solvent such as glycerin, DMSO or propanediol was used as solvent. In this case, upon evaporation, the water component will evaporate but not the high boiling point solvent. As a result, molecular reactants—DNA and bifunctional linker are progressively concentrated as the water is lost to evaporation. In the present invention, the ratio or water to high boiling point solvent is kept between 10:1 and 100:1. Thus, in the two extreme cases, upon equilibrium, volume of the fluid phase will reduce due to water evaporation to between 1/100th and 1/10^(th) the original volume, thus giving rise to a 100-fold to 10-fold increase in reactant concentration. Such controlled evaporation is crucial to the present invention since it controls the vertical spacing (Vertical Separation, “VG” in FIG. 1C) between nucleic acid probes, which is inversely related to the extent of evaporative concentration.

In the third step, the terminal Thymidine bases in the nucleic acid probes are UV crosslinked to the bifunctional linker within the evaporated surface (FIG. 1D). This process is mediated by the well-known photochemical reactivity of the Thymidine base that leads to the formation of covalent linkages to other thymidine bases in DNA or photochemical reaction with proteins and carbohydrates. If the bifunctional crosslinker is OligodT, then the crosslinking reaction will be bi-directional, that is, the photochemistry can be initiated in either the nucleic acid probe or the bifunctional OligodT linker. On the other hand, if the bifunctional linker is an amino polysaccharide such as chitosan or a polyamino acid, with a lysine or histidine in it, then the photochemistry will initiate in the nucleic acid probe, with the bifunctional linker being the target of the photochemistry.

2. Microarray System with Unmodified Solid Support for Non-Covalent Attachment

In this microarray system, attachment of the nucleic acid probes does not occur to the underlying surface directly, but is instead mediated through a relatively long, bi-functional polymeric linker that binds non-covalently with the solid support, but covalently with the nucleic acid probes via UV-initiated crosslinking. The mechanics of this process is spontaneous 3D self assembly and is illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D. As seen in FIG. 2A, the components required to fabricate this microarray system are:

-   -   (1) an unmodified nucleic acid probe 3 such as an         oligonucleotide, PCR or isothermal amplicon, plasmid or genomic         DNA;     -   (2) an unmodified solid support 1     -   (3) bifunctional polymer linkers 2 such as OligodT or a amino         polysaccharide, amino polypeptide, that inherently have or are         modified to have functional groups (designated “R”) compatible         for adsorptive binding to the solid support, each having a         fluorescent label 4; and     -   (4) a solvent comprising water and a high boiling point,         water-miscible liquid such as glycerol, DMSO or propanediol         (water to solvent ratio between 10:1 and 100:1);

Table 2 shows examples of unmodified support surfaces and matched absorptive groups on the bifunctional polymer linker for mere illustration purposes only and does not in any way precludes the use of other combinations of these.

TABLE 2 Non-Covalent Attachment of Bi-Functional Polymeric Linker to an Inert Surface Representative Matched Adsorptive Group Specific Bifunctional support surface on Bifunctional Linker (R_(n)) polymeric linker glass Single Stranded Nucleic OligodT (30-60 bases) Acid > 10 bases glass Amine-Polysaccharide Chitosan (30-60 subunits) glass Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. Digoxigenin 5′-Digoxigenin polycarbonate Single Stranded Nucleic Oligo-dT (30-60 bases) Acid > 10 bases polycarbonate Amine-Polysaccharide Chitosan (30-60 subunits) polycarbonate Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. Digoxigenin 5′-Digoxigenin graphene Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. pyrene 5′pyrene graphene Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. CY-5 dye 5′-CY-5 dye graphene Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. Digoxigenin 5′-Digoxigenin gold Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. pyrene 5′pyrene gold Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. CY-5 dye 5′ CY-5 dye gold Extended Planar Hydrophobic OligodT (30-60 bases)- Groups e.g. Digoxigenin 5′ Digoxigenin

When used in the present invention, components 1-3 are included as a solution to be applied to the solid support surface by ordinary methods of fabrication used to generate DNA Hybridization tests such as contact printing, piezo electric printing, ink jet printing, or pipetting.

Microarray fabrication begins with application of a mixture of the components (1)-(3) to the surface. The first step is adsorption of the bifunctional linker to the support surface (FIG. 2B). The concentration of the bi-functional linker is set so the average distance between bi-functional linker molecules defines a spacing denoted as lattice width (“LW” in FIG. 2B).

In the second step, the water in the solvent is evaporated to concentrate the DNA and bifunctional linker via evaporation of water from the solvent (FIG. 2C). Generally, use of pure water as the solvent during matrix fabrication is disadvantageous because water is very quickly removed by evaporation due to a high surface area/volume ratio. To overcome this, in the present invention, a mixture of water with a high boiling point water-miscible solvent such as glycerin, DMSO or propanediol was used as solvent. In this case, upon evaporation, the water component will evaporate but not the high boiling point solvent. As a result, molecular reactants—DNA and bifunctional linker are progressively concentrated as the water is lost to evaporation. In the present invention, the ratio or water to high boiling point solvent is kept between 10:1 and 100:1. Thus, in the two extreme cases, upon equilibrium, volume of the fluid phase will reduce due to water evaporation to between 1/100th and 1/10^(th) the original volume, thus giving rise to a 100-fold to 10-fold increase in reactant concentration.

In the third step, the terminal Thymidine bases in the nucleic acid probes are UV crosslinked to the bifunctional linker within the evaporated surface (FIG. 2D). This process is mediated by the well-known photochemical reactivity of the Thymidine base that leads to the formation of covalent linkages to other thymidine bases in DNA or photochemical reaction with proteins and carbohydrates. If the bifunctional crosslinker is OligodT, then the crosslinking reaction will be bi-directional, that is, the photochemistry can be initiated in either the nucleic acid probe or the bifunctional OligodT linker. On the other hand, if the bifunctional linker is an amino polysaccharide such as chitosan or a polyamino acid, with a lysine or histidine in it, then the photochemistry will initiate in the nucleic acid probe, with the bifunctional linker being the target of the photochemistry.

Although such non-covalent adsorption described in the first step is generally weak and reversible, when occurring in isolation, in the present invention it is taught that if many such weak adsorptive events between the bifunctional polymeric linker and the underlying surface occur in close proximity, and if the closely packed polymeric linkers are subsequently linked to each other via Thymidine-mediated photochemical crosslinking, the newly created extended, multi-molecular (crosslinked) complex will be additionally stabilized on the surface, thus creating a stable complex with the surface in the absence of direct covalent bonding to that surface.

The present invention works very efficiently for the linkage of synthetic oligonucleotides as nucleic acid probes to form a microarray-based hybridization device for the analysis of microbial DNA targets. However, it is clear that the same invention may be used to link PCR amplicons, synthetic oligonucleotides, isothermal amplification products, plasmid DNA or genomic DNA fragment as nucleic acid probes. It is also clear that the same technology could be used to manufacture hybridization devices that are not microarrays.

DNA nucleic acid probes were formulated as described in Table 3, to be deployed as described above and illustrated in FIG. 1 or 2. A set of 48 such probes (Table 4) were designed to be specific for various sequence determinants of microbial DNA and each was fabricated so as to present a string of 5-7 T bases at each end, to facilitate their UV-crosslinking to form a covalently linked microarray element, as described above and illustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the 48 different probes was printed in triplicate to form a 144 element (12×12) microarray having sequences shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Representative Conditions of use of the Present Invention 5′ labelled Unique sequence OligodT Oligonucleotide Fluorescent Nucleic acid probe 30-38 bases Long marker 30 bases Type 7 T's at each end Long(marker) Nucleic acid probe 50 mM 0.15 mM Concentration Bifunctional Linker OligodT 30 bases long Primary amine at 3′ terminus Bifunctional Linker 1 mM Concentration High Boiling point Water: Propanediol, Solvent 100:1 Surface Epoxysilane on borosilicate glass UV Crosslinking Dose 300 millijoule (mjoule)

TABLE 4 Nucleic acid probes Linked to the Microarray Surface via the Present Invention SEQ ID NO: 132 Negative control TTTTTTCTACTACCTATGCTGATTCACTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 129 Imager Calibration TTTTCTATGTATCGATGTTGAGAAATTTTTTT (High) SEQ ID NO: 130 Imager Calibration (Low) TTTTCTAGATACTTGTGTAAGTGAATTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 131 Imager Calibration TTTTCTAAGTCATGTTGTTGAAGAATTTTTTT (Medium) SEQ ID NO: 126 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTTTTAATCTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTTTT Control 1 SEQ ID NO: 127 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTTTGCAATCTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTTT Control 2 SEQ ID NO: 128 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTATTTCTTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTATTT Control 3 SEQ ID NO: 86 Total Yeast and Mold TTTTTTTTGAATCATCGARTCTTTGAACGCATTTTTTT (High sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 87 Total Yeast and Mold TTTTTTTTGAATCATCGARTCTCCTTTTTTT (Low sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 88 Total Yeast and Mold TTTTTTTTGAATCATCGARTCTTTGAACGTTTTTTT (Medium sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 132 Negative control TTTTTTCTACTACCTATGCTGATTCACTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 92 Aspergillus fumigatus 1 TTTCTTTTCGACACCCAACTTTATTTCCTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 90 Aspergillus flavus 1 TTTTTTCGCAAATCAATCTTTTTCCAGTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 95 Aspergillus niger 1 TTTTTTCGACGTTTTCCAACCATTTCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 100 Botrytis spp. TTTTTTTCATCTCTCGTTACAGGTTCTCGGTTCTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 108 Fusarium spp. TTTTTTTTAACACCTCGCRACTGGAGATTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 89 Alternaria spp TTTTTTCAAAGGTCTAGCATCCATTAAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 123 Rhodoturula spp. TTTTTTCTCGTTCGTAATGCATTAGCACTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 117 Penicillium paxilli TTTTTTCCCCTCAATCTTTAACCAGGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 116 Penicillium oxalicum TTTTTTACACCATCAATCTTAACCAGGCCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 118 Penicillium spp. TTTTTTCAACCCAAATTTTTATCCAGGCCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 102 Candida spp. Group 1 TTTTTTTGTTTGGTGTTGAGCRATACGTATTTTT SEQ ID NO: 103 Candida spp. Group 2 TTTTACTGTTTGGTAATGAGTGATACTCTCATTTT SEQ ID NO: 124 Stachybotrys spp TTTCTTCTGCATCGGAGCTCAGCGCGTTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 125 Trichoderma spp. TTTTTCCTCCTGCGCAGTAGTTTGCACATCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 105 Cladosporium spp. TTTTTTTTGTGGAAACTATTCGCTAAAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 121 Podosphaera spp. TTTTTTTTAGTCAYGTATCTCGCGACAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 132 Negative control TTTTTTCTACTACCTATGCTGATTCACTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 37 Total Aerobic bacteria TTTTTTTTTCCTACGGGAGGCAGTTTTTTT (High) SEQ ID NO: 38 Total Aerobic bacteria TTTTTTTTCCCTACGGGAGGCATTTTTTTT (Medium) SEQ ID NO: 39 Total Aerobic bacteria TTTATTTTCCCTACGGGAGGCTTTTATTTT (Low) SEQ ID NO: 47 Bile-tolerant Gram- TTTTTCTATGCAGTCATGCTGTGTGTRTGTCTTTTT negative (High) SEQ ID NO: 48 Bile-tolerant Gram- TTTTTCTATGCAGCCATGCTGTGTGTRTTTTTTT negative (Medium) SEQ ID NO: 49 Bile-tolerant Gram- TTTTTCTATGCAGTCATGCTGCGTGTRTTTTTTT negative (Low) SEQ ID NO: 53 Coliform/Enterobacteriaceae TTTTTTCTATTGACGTTACCCGCTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 81 stx1 gene TTTTTTCTTTCCAGGTACAACAGCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 82 stx2 gene TTTTTTGCACTGTCTGAAACTGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 59 etuf gene TTTTTTCCATCAAAGTTGGTGAAGAATCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 132 Negative control TTTTTTCTACTACCTATGCTGATTCACTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 65 Listeria spp. TTTTCTAAGTACTGTTGTTAGAGAATTTTT SEQ ID NO: 56 Aeromonas spp. TTATTTTCTGTGACGTTACTCGCTTTTATT SEQ ID NO: 78 Staphylococcus aureus 1 TTTATTTTCATATGTGTAAGTAACTGTTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 49 Campylobacter spp. TTTTTTATGACACTTTTCGGAGCTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 72 Pseudomonas spp.3 TTTATTTTAAGCACTTTAAGTTGGGATTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 53 Clostridium spp. TTTTCTGGAMGATAATGACGGTACAGTTTT SEQ ID NO: 42 Escherichia coli/ TTTTCTAATACCTTTGCTCATTGACTCTTT Shigella 1 SEQ ID NO: 74 Salmonella enterica/ TTTTTTTGTTGTGGTTAATAACCGATTTTT Enterobacter 1 SEQ ID NO: 61 invA gene TTTTTTTATTGATGCCGATTTGAAGGCCTTTTTT

The set of 48 different probes of Table 4 were formulated as described in Table 3, then printed onto epoxysilane coated borosilicate glass, using an Gentics Q-Array mini contact printer with Arrayit SMP pins, which deposit about 1 nL of formulation per spot. As described in FIG. 1, the arrays thus printed were then allowed to react with the epoxisilane surface at room temperature, and then evaporate to remove free water, also at room temperature. Upon completion of the evaporation step (typically overnight) the air-dried microarrays were then UV treated in a STATOLINKER® UV irradiation system: 300 mjoules of irradiation at 254 nm to initiate thymidine-mediated crosslinking. The microarrays are then ready for use, with no additional need for washing or capping.

Example 2 Using the 3-Dimensional Lattice Microarray System for DNA Analysis Sample Processing

Harvesting Pathogens from plant surface comprises the following steps:

1. Wash the plant sample or tape pull in 1× phosphate buffered saline (PBS)

2. Remove plant material/tape

3. Centrifuge to pellet cells & discard supernatant

4. Resuspend in PathogenDx® Sample Prep Buffer pre-mixed with Sample Digestion Buffer

5. Heat at 55° C. for 45 minutes

6. Vortex to dissipate the pellet

7. Heat at 95° C. for 15 minutes

8. Vortex and centrifuge briefly before use in PCR

Amplification by PCR

The sample used for amplification and hybridization analysis was a Cannabis flower wash from a licensed Cannabis lab. The washed flower material was then pelleted by centrifugation. The pellet was then digested with proteinaseK, then spiked with a known amount of Salmonella DNA before PCR amplification.

TABLE 5 PCR Primers and PCR conditions used in amplification PCR primers (P1) for PCR Reaction #1 Cannabis ITS1 1° FP*-TTTGCAACAGCAGAACGACCCGTGA Cannabis ITS1 1° RP*-TTTCGATAAACACGCATCTCGATTG Enterobacteriaceae 16S 1° FP-TTACCTTCGGGCCTCTTGCCATCRGATGTG Enterobacteriaceae 16S 1° RP-TTGGAATTCTACCCCCCTCTACRAGACTCAAGC PCR primers (P2) for PCR Reaction #2 Cannabis ITS1 2° FP-TTTCGTGAACACGTTTTAAACAGCTTG Cannabis ITS1 2° RP-(Cy3)TTTTCCACCGCACGAGCCACGCGAT Enterobacteriaceae 16S 2° FP-TTATATTGCACAATGGGCGCAAGCCTGATG  Enterobacteriaceae 16S 2° RP-(Cy3)TTTTGTATTACCGCGGCTGCTGGCA Primary PCR Secondary PCR PCR Reagent Concentration Concentration PCR Buffer 1X 2X MgCl₂ 2.5 mM 2.5 mM BSA 0.16 mg/mL 0.16 mg/mL dNTP's 200 mM 200 mM Prime mix 200 nM each 50 nM-FP/200 Taq Polymerase 1.5 Units 1.5 Units Program for PCR Reaction #1 95° C., 4 min 98° C., 30s 61° C., 30s 72° C., 60s 72° C., 7 min 25X Program for PCR Reaction #2 95° C., 4 min 98° C., 20s 61° C., 20s 72° C., 30s 72° C., 7 min 25X *FP, Forward Primer; *RP, Reverse Primer

The Salmonella DNA spiked sample was then amplified with PCR primers (P1—Table 5) specific for the 16S region of Enterobacteriaceae in a tandem PCR reaction to first isolate the targeted region (PCR Reaction #1) and also PCR primers (P1—Table 5) which amplify a segment of Cannabis DNA (ITS) used as a positive control.

The product of PCR Reaction #1 (14) was then subjected to a second PCR reaction (PCR Reaction #2) which additionally amplified and labelled the two targeted regions (16S, ITS) with green CY3 fluorophore labeled primers (P2—Table 5). The product of the PCR Reaction #2 (50 μL) was then diluted 1-1 with hybridization buffer (4×SSC+5×Denhardt's solution) and then applied directly to the microarray for hybridization.

Hybridization

Because the prior art method of microarray manufacture allows DNA to be analyzed via hybridization without the need for pre-treatment of the microarray surface, the use of the microarray is simple, and involves 6 manual or automated pipetting steps.

1) Pipette the amplified DNA+binding buffer onto the microarray

2) Incubate for 30 minutes to allow DNA binding to the microarray (typically at room temperature, RT)

3) Remove the DNA+binding buffer by pipetting

4) Pipette 50 uL of wash buffer onto the microarray (0.4×SSC+0.5×Denhardt's) and incubate 5 min at RT.

5) Remove the wash buffer by pipetting

6) Repeat steps 4&5

7) Perform image analysis at 532 nm and 635 nm to detect the probe spot location (532 nm) and PCR product hybridization (635 nm).

Image Analysis

Image Analysis was performed at two wavelengths (532 nm and 635 nm) on a raster-based confocal scanner: GenePix 4000B Microarray Scanner, with the following imaging conditions: 33% Laser power, 400 PMT setting at 532 nm/33% Laser Power, 700 PMT setting at 635 nm. FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure and hybridization performance of the microarray.

FIG. 3A reveals imaging of the representative microarray, described above, after hybridization and washing, as visualized at 635 nm. The 635 nm image is derived from signals from the (red) CY5 fluor attached to the 5′ terminus of the bifunctional polymer linker OligodT which had been introduced during microarray fabrication as a positional marker in each microarray spot (see FIG. 1 and Table 3). The data in FIG. 3A confirm that the Cy5-labelled OligodT has been permanently linked to the microarray surface, via the combined activity of the bi-functional linker and subsequent UV-crosslinking, as described in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3B reveals imaging of the representative microarray described above after hybridization and washing as visualized at 532 nm. The 532 nm image is derived from signals from the (green) CY3 fluor attached to the 5′ terminus of PCR amplified DNA obtained during PCR Reaction #2. It is clear from FIG. 3B that only a small subset of the 48 discrete probes bind to the Cy3-labelled PCR product, thus confirming that the present method of linking nucleic acid probes to form a microarray (FIG. 1) yields a microarray product capable of sequence specific binding to a (cognate) solution state target. The data in FIG. 3B reveal the underlying 3-fold repeat of the data (i.e., the array is the same set of 48 probes printed three times as 3 distinct sub-arrays to form the final 48×3=144 element microarray. The observation that the same set of 48 probes can be printed 3-times, as three repeated sub-domains show that the present invention generates microarray product that is reproducible.

FIG. 3C reveals imaging of the representative microarray, described above, after hybridization and washing, as visualized with both the 532 nm and 635 nm images superimposed. The superimposed images display the utility of parallel attachment of a Cy5-labelled OligodT positional marker relative to the sequence specific binding of the CY3-labelled PCR product.

Example 3

FIG. 4A shows an exemplar of the first PCR step. As is standard, such PCR reactions are initiated by the administration of PCR Primers. Primers define the start and stopping point of the PCR based DNA amplification reaction. In this embodiment, a pair of PCR reactions is utilized to support the needed DNA amplification. In general, such PCR amplification is performed in series: a first pair of PCRs, with the suffix “P1” in FIG. 4A are used to amplify about 14 of any unpurified DNA sample, such as a raw Cannabis leaf wash for example. About 14 of the product of that first PCR reaction is used as the substrate for a second PCR reaction that is used to affix a fluorescent dye label to the DNA, so that the label may be used to detect the PCR product when it binds by hybridization to the microarray. The primer sequences for the first and second PCRs are shown in Table 6. The role of this two-step reaction is to avert the need to purify the pathogen DNA to be analyzed. The first PCR reaction, with primers “P1” is optimized to accommodate the raw starting material, while the second PCR primer pairs “P2” are optimized to obtain maximal DNA yield, plus dye labeling from the product of the first reaction. Taken in the aggregate, the sum of the two reactions obviates the need to either purify or characterize the pathogen DNA of interest.

FIG. 4A reveals at low resolution the 16S rDNA region which is amplified in an embodiment, to isolate and amplify a region which may be subsequently interrogated by hybridization. The DNA sequence of this 16S rDNA region is known to vary greatly among different bacterial species. Consequently, having amplified this region by two step PCR, that sequence variation may be interrogated by the subsequent microarray hybridization step.

TABLE 6 First and Second PCR Primers SEQ ID NO. Primer target Primer sequence First PCR Primers (P1) for the first amplification step SEQ ID NO: 1 16S rDNA HV3 Locus TTTCACAYTGGRACTGAGACACG (Bacteria) SEQ ID NO: 2 16S rDNA HV3 Locus TTTGACTACCAGGGTATCTAATCCTGT (Bacteria) SEQ ID NO: 3 Stx1 Locus TTTATAATCTACGGCTTATTGTTGAACG (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 4 Stx1 Locus TTTGGTATAGCTACTGTCACCAGACAATG (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 5 Stx2 Locus TTTGATGCATCCAGAGCAGTTCTGCG (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 6 Stx2 Locus TTTGTGAGGTCCACGTCTCCCGGCGTC (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 7 InvA Locus (Salmonella) TTTATTATCGCCACGTTCGGGCAATTCG SEQ ID NO: 8 InvA Locus (Salmonella) TTTCTTCATCGCACCGTCAAAGGAACCG SEQ ID NO: 9 tuf Locus (All E. coli) TTTCAGAGTGGGAAGCGAAAATCCTG SEQ ID NO: 10 tuf Locus (All E. coli) TTTACGCCAGTACAGGTAGACTTCTG SEQ ID NO: 11 16S rDNA TTACCTTCGGGCCTCTTGCCATCRGATGTG Enterobacteriaceae HV3 Locus SEQ ID NO: 12 16S rDNA TTGGAATTCTACCCCCCTCTACRAGACTCAAGC Enterobacteriaceae HV3 Locus SEQ ID NO: 13 ITS2 Locus (All Yeast, TTTACTTTYAACAAYGGATCTCTTGG Mold/Fungus) SEQ ID NO: 14 ITS2 Locus (All Yeast, TTTCTTTTCCTCCGCTTATTGATATG Mold/Fungus) SEQ ID NO: 15 ITS2 Locus TTTAAAGGCAGCGGCGGCACCGCGTCCG (Aspergillus species) SEQ ID NO: 16 ITS2 Locus TTTTCTTTTCCTCCGCTTATTGATATG (Aspergillus species) SEQ ID NO: 17 ITS1 Locus TTTGCAACAGCAGAACGACCCGTGA (Cannabis/Plant) SEQ ID NO: 18 ITS1 Locus TTTCGATAAACACGCATCTCGATTG (Cannabis/Plant) Second PCR Primers (P2) for the second labeling amplification step SEQ ID NO: 19 16S rDNA HV3 Locus TTTACTGAGACACGGYCCARACTC (All Bacteria) SEQ ID NO: 20 16S rDNA HV3 Locus TTTGTATTACCGCGGCTGCTGGCA (All Bacteria) SEQ ID NO: 21 Stx1 Locus TTTATGTGACAGGATTTGTTAACAGGAC (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 22 Stx1 Locus TTTCTGTCACCAGACAATGTAACCGCTG (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 23 Stx2 Locus TTTTGTCACTGTCACAGCAGAAG (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 24 Stx2 Locus TTTGCGTCATCGTATACACAGGAGC (Pathogenic E. coli) SEQ ID NO: 25 InvA Locus (All Salmonella) TTTTATCGTTATTACCAAAGGTTCAG SEQ ID NO: 26 InvA Locus (All Salmonella) TTTCCTTTCCAGTACGCTTCGCCGTTCG SEQ ID NO: 27 tuf Locus (All E. coli) TTTGTTGTTACCGGTCGTGTAGAAC SEQ ID NO: 28 tuf Locus (All E. coli) TTTCTTCTGAGTCTCTTTGATACCAACG SEQ ID NO: 29 16S rDNA TTATATTGCACAATGGGCGCAAGCCTGATG Enterbacteriaceae HV3 Locus SEQ ID NO: 30 16S rDNA TTTTGTATTACCGCGGCTGCTGGCA Enterbacteriaceae HV3 Locus SEQ ID NO: 31 ITS2 Locus (All Yeast, TTTGCATCGATGAAGARCGYAGC Mold/Fungus) SEQ ID NO: 32 ITS2 Locus (All Yeast, TTTCCTCCGCTTATTGATATGC Mold/Fungus) SEQ ID NO: 33 ITS2 Locus TTTCCTCGAGCGTATGGGGCTTTGTC (Aspergillus species) SEQ ID NO: 34 ITS2 Locus TITTTCCTCCGCTTATIGATATGC (Aspergillus species) SEQ ID NO: 35 ITS1 Locus TTTCGTGAACACGTTTTAAACAGCTTG (Cannabis/Plant) SEQ ID NO: 36 ITS1 Locus TTTCCACCGCACGAGCCACGCGAT (Cannabis/Plant)

FIG. 4B displays the stx1 gene locus which is present in the most important pathogenic strains of E co/i and which encodes Shigatoxin 1. Employing the same two-step PCR approach, a set of two PCR primer pairs were designed which, in tandem, can be used to amplify and label unprocessed bacterial samples to present the stx1 locus for analysis by microarray-based DNA hybridization.

FIG. 5A displays the stx2 gene locus which is also present in the most important pathogenic strains of E coli and which encodes Shigatoxin 2. Employing the same two-step PCR approach, a set of two PCR primer pairs were designed which, in tandem, can be used to amplify and label unprocessed bacterial samples so as to present the stx2 locus for analysis by microarray-based DNA hybridization.

FIG. 5B displays the invA gene locus which is present in all strains of Salmonella and which encodes the InvAsion A gene product. Employing the same two-step PCR approach, a set of two PCR primer pairs were designed which, in tandem, can be used to amplify and label unprocessed bacterial samples so as to present the invA locus for analysis by microarray-based DNA hybridization.

FIG. 6 displays the tuf gene locus which is present in all strains of E coli and which encodes the ribosomal elongation factor Tu. Employing the same two-step PCR approach, a set of two PCR primer pairs were designed which, in tandem, can be used to amplify and label unprocessed bacterial samples so as to present the tuf locus for analysis by microarray-based DNA hybridization.

FIG. 7 displays the ITS2 locus which is present in all eukaryotes, including all strains of yeast and mold and which encodes the intergenic region between ribosomal genes 5.8S and 28S. ITS2 is highly variable in sequence and that sequence variation can be used to resolve strain differences in yeast, and mold. Employing the same two-step PCR approach, a set of two PCR primer pairs were designed which, in tandem, can be used to amplify and label unprocessed yeast and mold samples so as to present the ITS2 locus for analysis by microarray-based DNA hybridization.

FIG. 8 displays the ITS1 gene locus which is present in all eukaryotes, including all plants and animals, which encodes the intergenic region between ribosomal genes 18S and 5.8S. ITS1 is highly variable in sequence among higher plants and that sequence variation can be used to identify plant species. Employing the same two-step PCR approach, a set of two PCR primer pairs were designed which, in tandem, can be used to amplify and label unprocessed Cannabis samples so as to present the ITS1 locus for analysis by microarray-based DNA hybridization. The identification and quantitation of the Cannabis sequence variant of ITS1 is used as an internal normalization standard in the analysis of pathogens recovered from the same Cannabis samples.

Table 7 displays representative oligonucleotide sequences which are used as microarray probes in an embodiment for DNA microarray-based analysis of bacterial 16S locus as described in FIG. 4. The sequence of those probes has been varied to accommodate the cognate sequence variation which occurs as a function of species difference among bacteria. In all cases, the probe sequences are terminated with a string of T's at each end, to enhance the efficiency of probe attachment to the microarray surface, at time of microarray manufacture. Table 8 shows sequences of the Calibration and Negative controls used in the microarray.

Table 9 displays representative oligonucleotide sequences which are used as microarray probes in an embodiment for DNA microarray-based analysis of eukaryotic pathogens (fungi, yeast & mold) based on their ITS2 locus as described in FIG. 7. Sequences shown in Table 8 are used as controls. The sequence of those probes has been varied to accommodate the cognate sequence variation which occurs as a function of species difference among fungi, yeast & mold. In all cases, the probe sequences are terminated with a string of T's at each end, to enhance the efficiency of probe attachment to the microarray surface, at time of microarray manufacture.

Table 10 displays representative oligonucleotide sequences which are used as microarray probes in an embodiment for DNA microarray-based analysis of Cannabis at the ITS1 locus (Cannabis spp.).

TABLE 7 Oligonucleotide probe sequence for the 16S Locus SEQ ID NO: 37 Total Aerobic bacteria TTTTTTTTTCCTACGGGAGGCAGTTTTTTT (High) SEQ ID NO: 38 Total Aerobic bacteria TTTTTTTTCCCTACGGGAGGCATTTTTTTT (Medium) SEQ ID NO: 39 Total Aerobic bacteria (Low) TTTATTTTCCCTACGGGAGGCTTTTATTTT SEQ ID NO: 40 Enterobacteriaceae TTTATTCTATTGACGTTACCCATTTATTTT (Low sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 41 Enterobacteriaceae TTTTTTCTATTGACGTTACCCGTTTTTTTT (Medium sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 42 Escherichia coli/Shigella 1 TTTTCTAATACCTTTGCTCATTGACTCTTT SEQ ID NO: 43 Escherichia coli/Shigella 2 TTTTTTAAGGGAGTAAAGTTAATATTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 44 Escherichia coli/Shigella 3 TTTTCTCCTTTGCTCATTGACGTTATTTTT SEQ ID NO: 45 Bacillus spp. Group1 TTTTTCAGTTGAATAAGCTGGCACTCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 46 Bacillus spp. Group2 TTTTTTCAAGTACCGTTCGAATAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 47 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative TTTTTCTATGCAGTCATGCTGTGTGTRTGTCTTTTT (High) SEQ ID NO: 48 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative TTTTTCTATGCAGCCATGCTGTGTGTRTTTTTTT (Medium) SEQ ID NO: 49 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative TTTTTCTATGCAGTCATGCTGCGTGTRTTTTTTT (Low) SEQ ID NO: 50 Campylobacter spp. TTTTTTATGACACTTTTCGGAGCTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 51 Chromobacterium spp. TTTTATTTTCCCGCTGGTTAATACCCTTTATTTT SEQ ID NO: 52 Citrobacter spp. Group1 TTTTTTCCTTAGCCATTGACGTTATTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 53 Clostridium spp. TTTTCTGGAMGATAATGACGGTACAGTTTT SEQ ID NO: 54 Coliform/Enterobacteriaceae TTTTTTCTATTGACGTTACCCGCTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 55 Aeromonas TTTTTGCCTAATACGTRTCAACTGCTTTTT salmonicida/hydrophilia SEQ ID NO: 56 Aeromonas spp. TTATTTTCTGTGACGTTACTCGCTTTTATT SEQ ID NO: 57 Alkanindiges spp. TTTTTAGGCTACTGRTACTAATATCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 58 Bacillus pumilus TTTATTTAAGTGCRAGAGTAACTGCTATTTTATT SEQ ID NO: 59 etuf gene TTTTTTCCATCAAAGTTGGTGAAGAATCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 60 Hafnia spp. TTTTTTCTAACCGCAGTGATTGATCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 61 invA gene TTTTTTTATTGATGCCGATTTGAAGGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 62 Klebsiella oxytoca TTTTTTCTAACCTTATTCATTGATCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 63 Klebsiella pneumoniae TTTTTTCTAACCTTGGCGATTGATCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 64 Legionella spp. TTTATTCTGATAGGTTAAGAGCTGATCTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 65 Listeria spp. TTTTCTAAGTACTGTTGTTAGAGAATTTTT SEQ ID NO: 66 Panteoa agglomerans TTTTTTAACCCTGTCGATTGACGCCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 67 Panteoa stewartii TTTTTTAACCTCATCAATTGACGCCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 68 Pseudomonas aeruginosa TTTTTGCAGTAAGTTAATACCTTGTCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 69 Pseudomonas cannabina TTTTTTTACGTATCTGTTTTGACTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 70 Pseudomonas spp. 1 TTTTTTGTTACCRACAGAATAAGCATTTTT SEQ ID NO: 71 Pseudomonas spp. 2 TTTTTTAAGCACTTTAAGTTGGGATTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 72 Pseudomonas spp. 3 TTTATTTTAAGCACTTTAAGTTGGGATTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 73 Salmonella bongori TTTTTTTAATAACCTTGTTGATTGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 74 Salmonella TTTTTTTGTTGTGGTTAATAACCGATTTTT enterica/Enterobacter 1 SEQ ID NO: 75 Salmonella TTTTTTTAACCGCAGCAATTGACTCTTTTT enterica/Enterobacter 2 SEQ ID NO: 76 Salmonella TTTTTTCTGTTAATAACCGCAGCTTTTTTT enterica/Enterobacter 3 SEQ ID NO: 77 Serratia spp. TTTATTCTGTGAACTTAATACGTTCATTTTTATT SEQ ID NO: 78 Staphylococcus aureus 1 TTTATTTTCATATGTGTAAGTAACTGTTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 79 Staphylococcus aureus 2 TTTTTTCATATGTGTAAGTAACTGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 80 Streptomyces spp. TTTTATTTTAAGAAGCGAGAGTGACTTTTATTTT SEQ ID NO: 81 stx1 gene TTTTTTCTTTCCAGGTACAACAGCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 82 stx2 gene TTTTTTGCACTGTCTGAAACTGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 83 Vibrio spp. TTTTTTGAAGGTGGTTAAGCTAATTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 84 Xanthamonas spp. TTTTTTGTTAATACCCGATTGTTCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 85 Yersinia pestis TTTTTTTGAGTTTAATACGCTCAACTTTTT

TABLE 8 Calibration and Negative Controls SEQ ID NO: 129 Imager Calibration TTTTCTATGTATCGATGTTGAGAAATTTTTTT (High) SEQ ID NO: 130 Imager Calibration TTTTCTAGATACTTGTGTAAGTGAATTTTTTT (Low) SEQ ID NO: 131 Imager Calibration TTTTCTAAGTCATGTTGTTGAAGAATTTTTTT (Medium) SEQ ID NO: 132 Negative control TTTTTTCTACTACCTATGCTGATTCACTCTTTTT

TABLE 9 Oligonucleotide probe sequence for the ITS2 Locus SEQ ID NO: 86 Total Yeast and TTTTTTTTGAATCATCGARTCTTTGAACGCATTTTTTT Mold (High sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 87 Total Yeast and TTTTTTTTGAATCATCGARTCTCCTTTTTTT Mold (Low sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 88 Total Yeast and TTTTTTTTGAATCATCGARTCTTTGAACGTTTTTTT Mold (Medium sensitivity) SEQ ID NO: 89 Alternaria spp. TTTTTTCAAAGGTCTAGCATCCATTAAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 90 Aspergillus flavus 1 TTTTTTCGCAAATCAATCTTTTTCCAGTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 91 Aspergillus flavus 2 TTTTTTTCTTGCCGAACGCAAATCAATCTTTTTTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 92 Aspergillus TTTCTTTTCGACACCCAACTTTATTTCCTTATTT fumigatus 1 SEQ ID NO: 93 Aspergillus TTTTTTTGCCAGCCGACACCCATTCTTTTT fumigatus 2 SEQ ID NO: 94 Aspergillus nidulans TTTTTTGGCGTCTCCAACCTTACCCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 95 Aspergillus niger 1 TTTTTTCGACGTTTTCCAACCATTTCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 96 Aspergillus niger 2 TTTTTTTTCGACGTTTTCCAACCATTTCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 97 Aspergillus niger 3 TTTTTTTCGCCGACGTTTTCCAATTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 98 Aspergillus terreus TTTTTCGACGCATTTATTTGCAACCCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 99 Blumeria TTTATTTGCCAAAAMTCCTTAATTGCTCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 100 Botrytis spp TTTTTTTCATCTCTCGTTACAGGTTCTCGGTTCTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 101 Candida albicans TTTTTTTTTGAAAGACGGTAGTGGTAAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 102 Candida spp. TTTTTTTGTTTGGTGTTGAGCRATACGTATTTTT Group 1 SEQ ID NO: 103 Candida spp. TTTTACTGTTTGGTAATGAGTGATACTCTCATTTT Group 2 SEQ ID NO: 104 Chaetomium spp. TTTCTTTTGGTTCCGGCCGTTAAACCATTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 105 Cladosporium spp TTTTTTTTGTGGAAACTATTCGCTAAAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 106 Erysiphe spp. TTTCTTTTTACGATTCTCGCGACAGAGTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 107 Fusarium oxysporum TTTTTTTCTCGTTACTGGTAATCGTCGTTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 108 Fusarium spp TTTTTTTTAACACCTCGCRACTGGAGATTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 109 Golovinomyces TTTTTTCCGCTTGCCAATCAATCCATCTCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 110 Histoplasma TTTATTTTTGTCGAGTTCCGGTGCCCTTTTATTT capsulatum SEQ ID NO: 111 Isaria spp. TTTATTTTTCCGCGGCGACCTCTGCTCTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 112 Monocillium spp. TTTCTTTTGAGCGACGACGGGCCCAATTTTCTTT SEQ ID NO: 113 Mucor spp. TTTTCTCCAVVTGAGYACGCCTGTTTCTTTT SEQ ID NO: 114 Myrothecium spp. TTTATTTTCGGTGGCCATGCCGTTAAATTTTATT SEQ ID NO: 115 Oidiodendron spp. TTTTTTTGCGTAGTACATCTCTCGCTCATTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 116 Penicillium TTTTTTACACCATCAATCTTAACCAGGCCTTTTT oxalicum SEQ ID NO: 117 Penicillium paxilli TTTTTTCCCCTCAATCTTTAACCAGGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 118 Penicillium spp TTTTTTCAACCCAAATTTTTATCCAGGCCTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 119 Phoma/Epicoccum spp. TTTTTTTGCAGTACATCTCGCGCTTTGATTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 120 Podosphaera spp TTTTTTGACCTGCCAAAACCCACATACCATTTTT SEQ ID NO: 121 Podosphaera spp. TTTTTTTTAGTCAYGTATCTCGCGACAGTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 122 Pythium oligandrum TTTTATTTAAAGGAGACAACACCAATTTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 123 Rhodoturula spp TTTTTTCTCGTTCGTAATGCATTAGCACTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 124 Stachybotrys spp TTTCTTCTGCATCGGAGCTCAGCGCGTTTTATTT SEQ ID NO: 125 Trichoderma spp TTTTTCCTCCTGCGCAGTAGTTTGCACATCTTTT

Table 11 displays representative oligonucleotide sequences which are used as microarray probes in an embodiment for DNA microarray-based analysis of bacterial pathogens (stx1, stx2, invA, tuf) and for DNA analysis of the presence host Cannabis at the ITS1 locus (Cannabis spp.). It should be noted that this same approach, with modifications to the ITS1 sequence, could be used to analyze the presence of other plant hosts in such extracts.

TABLE 10 Oligonucleotide probe sequence for the Cannabis ITS1 Locus SEQ ID NO: 126 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTTTTAATCTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTTTT Control 1 SEQ ID NO: 127 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTTTGCAATCTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTTT Control 2 SEQ ID NO: 128 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTATTTCTTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTATTT Control 3

TABLE 11 Representative Microarray Probe Design for the Present Invention: Bacterial Toxins, ITS1 (Cannabis) SEQ ID NO: 81 stx/gene TTTTTTCTTTCCAGGTACAACAGCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 82 stx2 gene TTTTTTGCACTGTCTGAAACTGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 59 etuf gene TTTTTTCCATCAAAGTTGGTGAAGAATCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 61 invA gene TTTTTTTATTGATGCCGATTTGAAGGCCTTTTTT SEQ ID NO: 126 Cannabis ITS1 DNA TTTTTTAATCTGCGCCAAGGAACAATATTTTTTT Control 1

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram to describe how an embodiment is used to analysis the bacterial pathogen or yeast and mold complement of a Cannabis or related plant sample. Pathogen samples can be harvested from Cannabis plant material by tape pulling of surface bound pathogen or by simple washing of the leaves or buds or stems, followed by a single multiplex “Loci Enhancement” Multiplex PCR reaction, which is then followed by a single multiplex “Labelling PCR”. A different pair of two step PCR reactions is used to analyze bacteria, than the pair of two step PCR reactions used to analyze fungi, yeast & mold. In all cases, the DNA of the target bacteria or fungi, yeast & mold are PCR amplified without extraction or characterization of the DNA prior to two step PCR. Subsequent to the Loci Enhancement and Labelling PCR steps, the resulting PCR product is simply diluted into binding buffer and then applied to the microarray test. The subsequent microarray steps required for analysis (hybridization and washing) are performed at lab ambient temperature.

FIG. 10 provide images of a representative implementation of microarrays used in an embodiment. In this implementation, all nucleic acid probes required for bacterial analysis, along with Cannabis DNA controls (Tables 7 and 10) are fabricated into a single 144 element (12×12) microarray, along with additional bacterial and Cannabis probes such as those in Table 10. In this implementation, all nucleic acid probes required for fungi, yeast & mold analysis along with Cannabis DNA controls were fabricated into a single 144 element (12×12) microarray, along with additional fungal probes shown in Table 9. The arrays are manufactured on PTFE coated glass slides as two columns of 6 identical microarrays. Each of the 12 identical microarrays is capable of performing, depending on the nucleic acid probes employed, a complete microarray-based analysis bacterial analysis or a complete microarray-based analysis of fungi, yeast & mold. Nucleic acid probes were linked to the glass support via microfluidic printing, either piezoelectric or contact based or an equivalent. The individual microarrays are fluidically isolated from the other 11 in this case, by the hydrophobic PTFE coating, but other methods of physical isolation can be employed.

FIGS. 11A-11B display representative DNA microarray analysis of an embodiment. In this case, purified bacterial DNA or purified fungal DNA has been used, to test for affinity and specificity subsequent to the two-step PCR reaction and microarray-based hybridization analysis. As can be seen, the nucleic acid probes designed to detect each of the bacterial DNA (top) or fungal DNA (bottom) have bound to the target DNA correctly via hybridization and thus have correctly detected the bacterium or yeast. FIG. 12 displays representative DNA microarray analysis of an embodiment. In this case, 5 different unpurified raw Cannabis leaf wash samples were used to test for affinity and specificity subsequent to the two-step PCR reaction and microarray-based hybridization analysis. Both bacterial and fungal analysis has been performed on all 5 leaf wash samples, by dividing each sample into halves and subsequently processing them each for analysis of bacteria or for analysis of fungi, yeast & mold. The data of FIG. 12 were obtained by combining the outcome of both assays. FIG. 12 shows that the combination of two step PCR and microarray hybridization analysis, as described in FIG. 9, can be used to analyze the pathogen complement of a routine Cannabis leaf wash. It is expected, but not shown that such washing of any plant material could be performed similarly.

FIG. 13 displays representative DNA microarray analysis of an embodiment. In this case, one unpurified (raw) Cannabis leaf wash sample was used and was compared to data obtained from a commercially-obtained homogenous yeast vitroid culture of live Candida to test for affinity and specificity subsequent to the two-step PCR reaction and microarray-based hybridization analysis. Both Cannabis leaf wash and cultured fungal analysis have been performed by processing them each for analysis via probes specific for fungi (see Tables 9 and 11).

The data of FIG. 13 were obtained by combining the outcome of analysis of both the leaf wash and yeast vitroid culture samples. The data of FIG. 13 show that the combination of two step PCR and microarray hybridization analysis, as described in FIG. 9, can be used to interrogate the fungal complement of a routine Cannabis leaf wash as adequately as can be done with a pure (live) fungal sample. It is expected that fungal analysis via such washing of any plant material could be performed similarly.

FIG. 14 shows a graphical representation of the position of PCR primers employed in a variation of an embodiment for low level detection of Bacteria in the Family Enterobacteriaceae including E. coli. These PCR primers are used to selectively amplify and dye label DNA from targeted organisms for analysis via microarray hybridization.

FIGS. 15A-15C illustrate representative DNA microarray analysis demonstrating assay sensitivity over a range of microbial inputs. In this case, certified reference material consisting of enumerated bacterial colonies of E. coli O157:H7, E. coli O111 (FIGS. 15A, 15B) and Salmonella enterica (FIG. 15C) were spiked as a dilution series onto a hops plant surrogate matrix then processed using the assay version described for FIG. 14. Hybridization results from relevant probes from FIG. 7 are shown. The larger numbers on the x-axis represents the total number of bacterial colony forming units (CFU) that were spiked onto each hops plant sample, whereas the smaller numbers on the x-axis represent the number of CFU's of the spiked material that were actually inputted into the assay. Only about 1/50 of the original spiked hops sample volume was actually analyzed. The smaller numbers upon the x-axis of FIGS. 15A-15C are exactly 1/50^(th) that of the total (lower) values. As is seen, FIGS. 15A-15C show that the microarray test of an embodiment can detect less than 1 CFU per microarray assay. The nucleic acid targets within the bacterial genomes displayed in FIGS. 15A-15C comprise 16S rDNA. There are multiple copies of the 16S rDNA gene in each of these bacterial organisms, which enables detection at <1 CFU levels. Since a colony forming unit approximates a single bacterium in many cases, the data of FIGS. 15A-15C demonstrate that the present microarray assay has sensitivity which approaches the ability to detect a single (or a very small number) of bacteria per assay. Similar sensitivity is expected for all bacteria and eukaryotic microbes in that it is known that they all present multiple copies of the ribosomal rDNA genes per cell.

Tables 12A and 12B show a collection of representative microarray hybridization data obtained from powdered dry food samples with no enrichment and 18-hour enrichment for comparison. The data shows that bacterial microbes were successfully detected on the microarrays of the present invention without the need for enrichment.

FIG. 16 and Tables 13-15 describes embodiments for the analysis of fruit, embodiments for the analysis of vegetables and embodiments for the analysis of other plant matter. The above teaching shows, by example, that unprocessed leaf and bud samples in Cannabis and hops may be washed in an aqueous water solution, to yield a water-wash containing microbial pathogens which can then be analyzed via the present combination of RSG and microarrays.

If fresh leaf, flower, stem or root materials from fruit and vegetables are also washed in a water solution in that same way (when fresh, or after drying and grinding or other types or processing, then the present combination of RSG and microarray analysis would be capable of recovering and analyzing the DNA complement of those microbes in those other plant materials. At least two methods of sample collection are possible for fruit and vegetables. One method is the simple rinsing of the fruit, exactly as described for Cannabis, above. Another method of sample collection from fruits and vegetables is a “tape pull”, wherein a piece of standard forensic tape is applied to the surface of the fruit, then pulled off. Upon pulling, the tape is then soaked in the standard wash buffer described above, to suspend the microbes attached to the tape. Subsequent to the tape-wash step, all other aspects of the processing and analysis (i.e., raw sample genotyping, PCR, then microarray analysis) are exactly as described above.

TABLE 12A Representative microarray data obtained from powdered dry food samples Sample Type Whey Protein Whey Protein Chewable Vanilla Pea Shake Vanilla Shake Chocolate Berry Tablet Shake Protein Enrichment time 0 18 0 18 0 18 0 18 0 18 hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours Negative Control Probe 289 318 349 235 327 302 358 325 321 299 Total Aerobic Bacteria Probes High sensitivity 26129 38896 16629 11901 3686 230 32747 12147 41424 40380 Medium sensitivity 5428 6364 3308 2794 876 215 7310 2849 15499 8958 Low sensitivity 2044 3419 1471 990 446 181 2704 1062 4789 3887 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative Probes High sensitivity 2639 350 1488 584 307 305 1041 472 15451 8653 Medium sensitivity 1713 328 892 493 322 362 615 380 6867 4997 Low sensitivity 974 600 749 621 595 688 821 929 2459 1662 Total Enterobacteriaceae Probes High sensitivity 1131 306 363 310 346 318 273 331 4260 3149 Medium sensitivity 479 296 320 297 329 339 314 342 1489 990 Low sensitivity 186 225 203 165 205 181 207 200 216 259 16S rDNA Species Probes Escherichia coli/Shigella spp. 233 205 255 219 207 255 215 214 242 198 S. enterica/enterobacter spp. 203 183 186 281 212 299 197 257 308 303 Bacillus spp. 154 172 189 114 307 156 169 153 233 259 Pseudomonas spp. 549 201 202 251 148 216 303 276 2066 983 Organism Specific Gene Probes tuf gene(E. coli) 204 129 180 272 158 190 191 183 186 192 stx1 gene(E. coli) 241 178 171 240 289 304 195 245 149 191 stx2 gene(E. coli) 145 96 136 125 182 224 130 142 85 127 invA (Salmonella spp.) 215 265 210 284 204 256 239 285 237 229

TABLE 12B Representative microarray data obtained from powdered dry food samples Sample Type Rice Work-out Work-out Vanilla Protein Shake FP Shake BR Shake Enrichment time 0 18 0 18 0 18 0 18 hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours Negative Control Probe 351 351 271 309 299 332 246 362 Total Aerobic Bacteria Probes High sensitivity 471 288 17146 266 19207 261 41160 47198 Medium sensitivity 161 187 3120 229 3309 311 10060 22103 Low sensitivity 186 239 1211 261 1223 264 3673 6750 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative Probes High sensitivity 326 372 375 380 412 363 1418 358 Medium sensitivity 304 362 341 391 308 356 699 394 Low sensitivity 683 942 856 689 698 864 848 665 Total Enterobacteriaceae Probes High sensitivity 277 329 317 327 298 326 290 349 Medium sensitivity 326 272 296 291 297 263 262 307 Low sensitivity 215 207 204 288 213 269 195 247 16S rDNA Species Probes Escherichia coli/Shigella spp. 228 229 216 267 221 253 220 207 S. enterica/enterobacter spp. 226 281 238 268 197 254 255 216 Bacillus spp. 157 166 812 208 915 216 415 168 Pseudomonas spp. 199 225 247 251 211 259 277 225 Organism Specific Gene Probes tuf gene(E. coli) 150 149 126 206 163 212 215 166 stx1 gene(E. coli) 270 247 211 299 239 307 175 185 stx2 gene(E. coli) 158 178 127 205 138 175 128 100 invA (Salmonella spp.) 257 241 249 264 220 258 239 245 The data of Tables 13-15 demonstrates that simple washing of the fruit and tape pull sampling of the fruit generate similar microbial data. The blueberry sample is shown to be positive for Botrytis, as expected, since Botrytis is a well-known fungal contaminant on blueberries. The lemon sample is shown to be positive for Penicillium, as expected, since Penicillium is a well-known fungal contaminant for lemons.

TABLE 13 Representative microarray hybridization data obtained from blueberry and lemon washes. Sample Blueberry Lemon Collection Type Produce Wash Protocol Wash 1 blueberry in 2 ml Wash 1 piece moldy 20 mM Borate, vortex 30 lemon in 2 ml 20 mM seconds Borate, vortex 30 seconds Dilution Factor NONE 1:20 NONE 1:20 A. fumigatus 1 65 61 62 57 A. fumigatus 2 66 61 58 131 A. fumigatus 3 69 78 55 127 A. fumigatus 4 80 198 63 161 A. fumigatus 5 98 68 59 70 A. flavus 1 111 65 197 58 A. flavus 2 64 66 71 49 A. flavus 3 72 79 54 49 A. flavus 4 95 71 66 125 A. flavus 5 59 55 45 47 A. niger 1 91 75 61 61 A. niger 2 185 68 61 57 A. niger 3 93 66 62 61 A. niger 4 1134 74 75 64 Botrytis spp. 1 26671 27605 60 55 Botrytis spp. 2 26668 35611 59 57 Penicillium spp. 1 63 69 2444 4236 Penicillium spp. 2 71 69 4105 7426 Fusarium spp. 1 175 69 59 78 Fusarium spp. 2 71 73 84 62 Mucor spp. 1 71 57 58 61 Mucor spp. 2 61 290 66 61 Total Y & M 1 20052 21412 8734 7335 Total Y & M 2 17626 8454 5509 5030

TABLE 14 Representative microarray hybridization data obtained from blueberry washes and tape pulls Sample Moldy Blueberry Collection Type Tape Pull ID 1A1 1A1 1A2 1A2 1A3 1A3 1B1 1B1 1B2 1B2 1B3 1B3 Collection Point 1 500 ul 20 mM Borate Buffer, vortex 30 seconds 500 ul 20 mM Borate + Triton Buffer, vortex 30 seconds Collection Point 2 Add 15 mg zirconia beads, Add 15 mg zirconia beads, vortex, Heat 5 min 95° C., vortex, Heat 5 min 95° C., Vortex 15 seconds Vortex 15 seconds Collection Point 3 Heat 5 min Heat 5 min 95° C. vortex 95° C. vortex 15 seconds 15 seconds Dilution Factor NONE 1:20 NONE 1:20 NONE 1:20 NONE 1:20 NONE 1:20 NONE 1:20 A. fumigatus 1 66 388 83 77 97 313 95 68 76 55 75 60 A. fumigatus 2 97 100 82 118 69 56 87 67 185 76 58 52 A. fumigatus 3 77 94 82 1083 87 61 93 84 75 378 73 64 A. fumigatus 4 84 151 94 118 96 80 115 85 85 93 190 88 A. fumigatus 5 63 75 96 71 78 61 98 74 68 98 70 533 A. flavus 1 200 107 113 61 204 58 105 73 62 68 64 65 A. flavus 2 70 104 64 57 133 281 111 78 377 314 57 50 A. flavus 3 83 90 94 150 99 90 96 222 1162 86 80 73 A. flavus 4 76 125 92 146 87 174 241 78 115 69 105 85 A. flavus 5 80 153 77 72 78 439 71 86 280 58 62 57 A. niger 1 409 178 122 72 80 70 76 71 152 117 65 53 A. niger 2 78 292 79 65 715 666 74 70 68 731 70 54 A. niger 3 86 76 87 558 78 60 70 81 96 63 478 58 A. niger 4 164 70 92 108 197 69 130 75 76 148 73 65 Botrytis spp. 1 41904 26549 28181 29354 25304 25685 57424 33783 57486 49803 33176 32153 Botrytis spp. 2 36275 25518 29222 27076 26678 27675 49480 32899 52817 34322 29693 32026 Penicillium spp. 1 80 81 83 64 96 60 79 80 176 60 385 53 Penicillium spp. 2 90 93 81 80 114 59 98 69 470 65 478 56 Fusarium spp. 1 77 71 69 62 112 55 61 274 617 81 59 757 Fusarium spp. 2 91 82 107 74 101 65 91 66 123 63 71 583 Mucor spp. 1 90 314 73 88 105 61 77 79 741 180 172 74 Mucor spp. 2 83 69 73 69 91 67 111 102 455 88 70 133 Total Y & M 1 23637 18532 15213 17668 18068 19762 18784 15550 20625 17525 25813 18269 Total Y & M 2 12410 8249 9281 11526 8543 13007 14180 14394 9905 8972 15112 12678 The data embodied in FIG. 16 and Tables 13-15 demonstrate the use of an embodiment, for the recovery and analysis of yeast microbes on the surface of fruit (blueberries and lemons in this case), but an embodiment could be extended to other fruits and vegetables for the analysis of both bacterial and fungal contamination.

TABLE 15 Representative microarray hybridization data obtained from lemon washes and tape pulls. Sample Moldy Lemon Collection Type Tape Pull ID 1A1 1A2 1A3 1B1 1B2 Lemon Lemon Lemon Lemon Lemon Collection Point 1 500 ul 20 mM Borate + Triton Buffer, vortex 30 seconds Collection Point 2 Add 15 mg Add 15 mg zirconia beads, zirconia beads, vortex, Heat 5 min vortex, Heat 5 min 95° C., Vortex 95° C., Vortex 15 seconds 15 seconds Collection Point 3 Heat 5 min 95° C. vortex 15 seconds Dilution Factor NONE A. fumigatus 1 96 83 75 83 64 A. fumigatus 2 221 73 71 66 101 A. fumigatus 3 87 88 85 92 122 A. fumigatus 4 83 85 91 72 97 A. fumigatus 5 448 100 84 114 78 A. flavus 1 85 79 70 66 63 A. flavus 2 77 82 77 79 63 A. flavus 3 133 66 86 60 67 A. flavus 4 96 85 81 98 88 A. flavus 5 68 62 65 106 59 A. niger 1 73 88 77 73 73 A. niger 2 74 84 81 71 103 A. niger 3 90 86 87 74 78 A. niger 4 82 93 104 86 161 Botrytis spp. 1 82 75 75 77 68 Botrytis spp. 2 91 74 83 67 62 Penicillium spp. 1 3824 5461 5500 4582 5290 Penicillium spp. 2 7586 8380 11177 6528 8167 Fusarium spp. 1 101 62 61 70 279 Fusarium spp. 2 77 122 78 68 233 Mucor spp. 1 74 110 89 76 57 Mucor spp. 2 132 1302 90 84 61 Total Y & M 1 8448 12511 9249 12844 8593 Total Y & M 2 9275 8716 11585 10758 4444

Table 16 shows embodiments for the analysis of environmental water samples/specimens. The above teaching shows by example that unprocessed leaf and bud samples in Cannabis and hops may be washed in an aqueous water solution, to yield a water-wash containing microbial pathogens which can then be analyzed via the present combination of Raw Sample Genotyping (RSG) and microarrays. If a water sample containing microbes were obtained from environmental sources (such as well water, or sea water, or soil runoff or the water from a community water supply) and then analyzed directly, or after ordinary water filtration to concentrate the microbial complement onto the surface of the filter, that the present combination of RSG and microarray analysis would be capable of recovering and analyzing the DNA complement of those microbes.

The data embodied in Table 16 were obtained from 5 well-water samples (named 2H, 9D, 21, 23, 25) along with 2 samples of milliQ laboratory water (obtained via reverse osmosis) referred to as “Negative Control”. All samples were subjected to filtration on a sterile 0.4 um filter. Subsequent to filtration, the filters, with any microbial contamination that they may have captured, were then washed with the standard wash solution, exactly as described above for the washing of Cannabis and fruit. Subsequent to that washing, the suspended microbes in wash solution were then subjected to exactly the same combination of centrifugation (to yield a microbial pellet) then lysis and PCR of the unprocessed pellet-lysate (exactly as described above for Cannabis), followed by PCR and microarray analysis, also as described for Cannabis.

TABLE 16 Representative microarray data from raw water filtrate Sample ID Negative 2 H 2 H 9 D 9 D 21 21 23 23 25 25 Control Imager Calibration High 311 335 322 379 341 348 345 325 354 343 333 Imager Calibration Med 280 314 268 286 288 231 253 295 267 295 244 Imager Calibration Low 245 296 302 324 254 268 293 285 271 340 275 Cannabis cont. 310 330 313 255 323 368 313 322 274 332 322 Cannabis cont. 313 237 298 271 298 288 296 280 249 284 297 Cannabis cont. 208 265 276 250 267 327 255 258 253 282 370 Total Yeast & Mold 284 324 290 307 272 361 296 288 271 321 469 Total Yeast & Mold 251 259 294 290 309 308 285 281 275 299 293 Total Yeast & Mold 282 280 294 280 299 284 275 286 299 259 232 Total Aerobic bacteria High 40101 42007 47844 47680 45102 44041 43520 41901 46459 46783 135 Total Aerobic bacteria Medium 14487 12314 24189 26158 19712 16210 17943 15474 25524 18507 157 Total Aerobic bacteria Low 4885 5629 7625 6456 5807 4505 5316 6022 6264 6974 159 Negative Control 293 359 303 339 312 329 306 377 307 335 307 Aspergillus fumigatus 285 291 284 268 289 265 271 281 269 248 228 Aspergillus flavus 184 211 201 344 237 179 212 213 163 204 171 Aspergillus niger 226 213 228 273 190 195 245 206 222 209 172 Botrytis spp. 219 285 258 302 275 219 202 288 221 248 214 Alternaria spp. 81 97 76 89 58 76 75 175 117 174 167 Penicillium paxilli 135 162 215 142 127 161 103 115 238 190 200 Penicillium oxalicum 119 107 161 131 135 241 178 158 140 143 194 Penicillium spp. 50 123 179 177 128 138 146 163 148 115 184 Can. alb/trop/dub 261 236 235 230 250 213 276 244 245 237 194 Can. glab/Sach & Kluv spp. 146 165 196 128 160 215 185 217 215 177 225 Podosphaera spp. 111 119 100 122 192 105 95 43 169 27 143 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative High 16026 9203 13309 8426 16287 14116 10557 17558 15343 14285 183 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative Medium 12302 11976 9259 10408 13055 10957 11242 8416 9322 11785 196 Bile-tolerant Gram-negative Low 5210 7921 3818 3984 7224 6480 4817 6933 5021 5844 240 Total Enterobacteriaceae High 193 248 389 357 215 214 198 220 276 208 210 Total Enterobacteriaceae Med 246 214 297 246 244 224 219 245 252 229 207 Total Enterobacteriaceae Low 165 140 158 119 151 180 150 167 182 174 132 Total Coliform 121 148 158 117 129 117 155 157 125 178 152 Escherichia coli specific gene 31821 115 132 155 127 62 86 121 59 90 234 stx1 gene 67 0 2 0 0 23 21 28 0 0 116 stx2 gene 17 36 174 0 61 47 0 51 33 0 85 Salmonella specific gene 181 172 245 172 178 212 157 243 174 156 146 Bacillus spp. 137 135 174 112 164 143 163 182 168 152 149 Pseudomonas spp. 271 74 332 56 366 133 91 114 60 179 555 Escherichia coli/Shigella spp. 103 124 221 124 90 144 130 121 137 143 158 Salmonella enterica/enterobacter spp. 124 98 131 119 136 88 121 77 128 140 124 Erysiphe Group 2 278 221 237 230 245 254 250 220 205 236 233 Trichoderma spp. 105 157 204 152 180 154 130 161 201 180 150 Escherichia coli 429 431 551 576 549 406 407 484 556 551 293 Aspergillus niger 218 212 216 297 255 312 221 202 238 231 209 Escherichia coli/Shigella spp. 163 193 220 202 308 280 121 271 341 317 124 Aspergillus fumigatus 713 865 862 830 784 657 827 803 746 812 793 Aspergillus flavus 155 261 198 156 239 171 250 218 210 258 219 Salmonella enterica 136 98 85 43 109 47 23 123 70 100 135 Salmonella enterica 68 53 52 41 60 92 26 28 55 81 116

The data seen in Table 16 demonstrate that microbes collected on filtrates of environmental water samples can be analyzed via the same combination of raw sample genotyping, then PCR and microarray analysis used for Cannabis and fruit washes. The italicized elements of Table 16 demonstrate that the 5 unprocessed well-water samples all contain aerobic bacteria and bile tolerant gram-negative bacteria. The presence of both classes of bacteria is expected for unprocessed (raw) well water. Thus, the data of Table 16 demonstrate that this embodiment of the present invention can be used for the analysis of environmentally derived water samples.

The above teaching shows that unprocessed leaf and bud samples in Cannabis and hops may be washed in an aqueous water solution to yield a water-wash containing microbial pathogens which can then be analyzed via the present combination of RSG and microarrays. The above data also show that environmentally-derived well water samples may be analyzed by an embodiment. Further, if a water sample containing microbes were obtained from industrial processing sources (such as the water effluent from the processing of fruit, vegetables, grain, meat) and then analyzed directly, or after ordinary water filtration to concentrate the microbial complement onto the surface of the filter, that the present combination of RSG and microarray analysis would be capable of recovering and analyzing the DNA complement of those microbes.

Further, if an air sample containing microbes as an aerosol or adsorbed to airborne dust were obtained by air filtration onto an ordinary air-filter (such as used in the filtration of air in an agricultural or food processing plant, or on factory floor, or in a public building or a private home) that such air-filters could then be washed with a water solution, as has been demonstrated for plant matter, to yield a microbe-containing filter eluate, such that the present combination of Raw Sample Genotyping (RSG) and microarray analysis would be capable of recovering and analyzing the DNA complement of those microbes.

While the foregoing written description of an embodiments enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The present disclosure should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiments, methods, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A covalently bonded, 3-dimensional lattice microarray system comprising: a solid support with a front surface and a back surface; a plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers each having a top domain and a bottom end, said bottom end attached to the solid support; and a plurality of nucleic acid probes attached to the top domain of the bifunctional polymer linker.
 2. The microarray system of claim 1, said solid support further comprising a plurality of chemically activatable groups attached to the front surface thereof, said plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers covalently attaching to the plurality of chemically activatable groups
 3. The microarray system of claim 2, wherein the chemically activatable group is an epoxysilane group, a maleimido group, an amino group or an activated carboxylic acid ester.
 4. The microarray system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers comprise a first reactive moiety at the bottom ends to covalently attach to the chemically activatable groups in the solid support or a second reactive moiety at the top domains to covalently attach to the plurality of nucleic acids or a combination thereof.
 5. The microarray system of claim 4, wherein the first reactive moiety is an amino group, a thiol group, an aldehyde group or a carboxylate.
 6. The microarray system of claim 4, wherein the second reactive moiety is a nucleotide base, an amino acid, or an aminosaccharide.
 7. The microarray system of claim 6, wherein the nucleotide base is thymidine, adenine, guanine, cytidine, uracil or bromodeoxyuridine.
 8. The microarray system of claim 6, wherein the amino acid is cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine glycine, serine, tryptophan, cystine, methionine, histidine, arginine or lysine.
 9. The microarray system of claim 1, wherein the solid support is borosilicate glass, an inert metal, a thermoplastic acrylic resin, a cycloolefin polymer, a polyethylene terephthalate, a polycarbonate, a nylon, a ceramic, a engineered carbon surfaces or a combination thereof.
 10. The microarray system of claim 1, wherein the bifunctional polymer linker is an oligonucleotide, an amino polysaccharide, a polyamine or a polyamino acid.
 11. The microarray system of claim 10, wherein the oligonucleotide is OligodT or equivalent thymidine rich nucleic acid.
 12. The microarray system of claim 1, wherein the bifunctional polymer comprises an adsorptive group at the bottom end thereof.
 13. The microarray system of claim 12, wherein the adsorptive group is a single stranded nucleic acid, an amine-polysaccharide, or an extended planar hydrophobic group.
 14. The microarray system of claim 13, wherein the single stranded nucleic acid is OligodT or equivalent thymidine rich nucleic acid.
 15. The microarray system of claim 13, wherein the amine-polysaccharide is chitosan.
 16. The microarray system of claim 13, wherein the extended planar hydrophobic group is a pyrene, a digoxigenin, or a Cy5 dye.
 17. The microarray system of claim 1, said bifunctional polymer linker further comprising a fluorescent label covalently attached to an end of the top domain thereof or internally covalently attached.
 18. The microarray system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of nucleic acid probes comprises at least three terminal thymidine bases at a 5′ end and at a 3′ end thereof.
 19. The microarray system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of the nucleic acid probes have sequences complementary to signature nucleotide sequences in pathogens, plants or animals.
 20. A customizable microarray kit comprising: a solid support; a plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers; a solvent mixture; and instructions to use the kit.
 21. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, said solid support further comprising a plurality of chemically activatable groups for covalent attachment with the bifunctional polymer linker.
 22. The customizable microarray kit of claim 21, wherein the chemically activatable group is an epoxysilane group, a maleimido group, an amino group or an activated carboxylic acid ester.
 23. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, wherein the solid support is borosilicate glass, an inert metal, a thermoplastic acrylic resin, a cycloolefin polymer, a polyethylene terephthalate, a polycarbonate, a nylon, a ceramic, a engineered carbon surfaces or a combination thereof.
 24. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, wherein the bifunctional polymer linker is an oligonucleotide, an amino polysaccharide, a polyamine, a polyamino acid or chemically modified analogs thereof.
 25. The customizable microarray kit of claim 24, wherein the bifunctional polymer linker is OligodT, chitosan, 5′-OligodT, 5′-digoxigenin OligodT, 5′-pyrene OligodT or 5′-Cy5 OligodT.
 26. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, wherein the bifunctional polymer linker comprises an absorptive group for non-covalent attachment to the solid support.
 27. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, each of said plurality of bifunctional polymer linkers further comprising a fluorescent label covalently attached at an end thereof or internally, covalently attached.
 28. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, wherein the solvent mixture comprises a mixture of water and one of glycerol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or propanediol at a volume ratio of about 10:1 to about 100:1.
 29. The customizable microarray kit of claim 20, further comprising a plurality of nucleic acid probes each having a sequence complementary to a signature nucleotide sequence in a pathogen, a plant or an animal.
 30. The customizable microarray kit of claim 29, wherein the plurality of nucleic acid probes each comprise at least three terminal thymidine bases at a 5′ end and at a 3′ end. 